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Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


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The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  baiow. 


□    Coloured  covers/ 
Couvertura  da  couleur 


r~n    Covers  damaged/ 


D 


n 


y 


D 


Couverture  endommagie 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurie  et/ou  pellicul^e 


□    Cover  title  missing/ 
Letit 


D 


itre  de  couverture  manque 


Coloured  maps/ 

Cartes  giographiques  en  couleur 


Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 


Bound  with  other  material/ 
Raiii  avec  d'autres  documents 


Tight  binding  may  causa  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

Lareliure  serree  peut  causer  da  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distorsion  le  long  de  la  marge  interieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajouties 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  ceia  itait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  iti  filmies. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  suppl^mentaires; 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  iui  a  iti  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-^tre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
una  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mithode  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiquAs  ci-dessous. 


□    Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  de  couleur 

□    Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagies 

r~~|    Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 


0 


Pages  restaurdes  et/ou  peiiiculies 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxe< 
Pages  ddcolor^es,  tacheties  ou  piquees 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d^tachees 

Showthrough/ 
Transparence 

Quality  of  prir 

Quality  inigale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  materii 
Comprend  du  materiel  supplementaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seuie  Edition  disponible 


The 

pOM 

of  th 
filmi 


Origi 
bagi 
the  I 
•ion, 
otha 
first 
•ion. 
or  ill 


rri  Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 

I      I  Pages  detached/ 

r~~|  Showthrough/ 

I      I  Quality  of  print  varies/ 

n~|  Includes  supplementary  material/ 

I      I  Only  edition  available/ 


Tho 
shall 
TINI 
whii 

Map 
difffl 
antii 
bagi 
right 
raqu 
mati 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc..  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  cnt  M  film^es  A  nouveau  de  facon  a 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film^  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqui  ci-dessous. 


10X 

14X 

18X 

22X 

26X 

30X 

y 

12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


Th«  copy  filmad  her*  hat  b««n  raproductd  thanks 
to  tha  ganarosity  of: 

University  of  British  Columbia  Library 


L'axamplaira  film*  fut  raproduit  grica  i  la 
gintroaiti  da: 

University  of  British  Columbia  Library 


Tha  imagaa  appearing  hara  ara  tha  baat  quality 
poasibia  conaldaring  tha  condition  and  lagibility 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  apacif icationa. 


Laa  imagaa  suivantaa  ont  At*  raproduitas  avac  la 
plus  grand  soin.  compta  tanu  da  la  condition  at 
da  la  nattat*  da  raxamplaira  filmA.  at  9n 
conformity  avac  las  conditions  du  contrat  da 
filmaga. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  ara  filmad 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
firat  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  -^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  tha  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  ate,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Lea  exemplairas  originaux  dont  la  couvarture  an 
papier  est  ImprimAe  sont  filmte  en  commen9ant 
par  la  premier  plat  at  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
darniire  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'iilustration.  soit  par  la  second 
plat,  salon  la  cas.  Tous  lea  autrea  exemplairas 
originaux  sont  filmte  en  commenpant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'iilustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  darnlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  sulvants  apparaftra  sur  la 
darniire  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  — »>  signifie  "A  SUIVRE".  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "f IN". 

Las  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvant  Atre 
filmAs  A  des  taux  de  reduction  diffirents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atra 
raproduit  an  un  seul  cliche,  il  est  f  ilm6  A  partir 
de  Tangle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  drolte, 
et  de  haut  en  bas.  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'imagas  ntcessaire.  Las  diagrammas  suivants 
illustrent  la  mithode. 


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2 

3 

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5 

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WITH  ^H    M"<^'^n.  ■■*'  -^x^  •nj'^  f'viNAJ)}  VN  KEEEMJON 
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THE 


LIFE  AND  TIMES 


OF 


WM.  LYON  MACKENZIE. 


WITH  AN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  CANADIAN  REBELLION 
OF  1837,  AND  THE  SUBSEQUENT  FRONTIER  .  -. 
DISTURBANCES,  CHIEFLY  FROM  UN- 
PUBLISHED  DOCUMENTS. 


■l  "Jk 


■■'f;. 


BY 


CHARLES  LINDSEY. 


VOL.    I. 


# 


PHILADELPHIA; 

J.  W.  BRADLEY,  66  N.  FOURTH  ST. 

186  2. 


11- 


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u'l      ; 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  the  Provincial  Legislature,  in  the  year  1862,  by 

CHARLES  LINDSEY, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Registrar  of  the  Province  of  Canada. 


/S  -f  /  J  O/ 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congreis,  lu  the  year  1862,  by 

J.  W.  BRADLEY, 

In  the  CIerk'8  Office  of  the  Dietrict  Court  for  the  Eastern  DUtrict  of  PenngylTania. 


;   .'     j    ir  ^        '■'■['      '    I    't     I- 


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1 

..I.- 1  ■.t;^   ■ 

.    ■,-.'■  ■, 

_.'-v      ; 

INTRODUCTION. 


.h. 


A  VERT  general  impression  prevails  throughout  Canada  that 
the  late  William  Lyon  Mackenzie  had,  for  some  years,  heen  en- 
gaged in  writing  his  autobiography ;  and  that,  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  the  work  was  nearly  completed.  An  examination  of  his 
papers  showed  that  such  was  not  the  case.  He  had  indeed  pro- 
jected such  a  work,  and  arranged  much  of  the  material  neces- 
sary for  its  construction.  The  foundation  had  been  dug ;  but  the 
first  stone  of  the  superstructure  had  not  been  laid.  About  his 
intention,  or  rather  his  desire,  there  can  be  no  doubt.  He  had 
made  known  to  all  his  friends  that  he  had  laid  out  this  work  fo. 
himself;  and  even  his  own  family  were  under  the  impression  that 
he  had  made  considerable  progress  in  its  execution.  But  on  ex- 
amining his  papers,  I  soon  discovered  that,  except  detached  and 
scattered  memoranda,  he  had  written  nothing.  Of  autobio- 
graphy, not  previously  written  when  some  momentary  exigency 
seemed  to  demand  it,  or  fancy  spurred  him  to  put  down  some 
striking  passage  in  his  life,  there  was  nothing.  Beyond  this, 
every  thing  had  to  be  done  by  his  biographer,  if  his  life  was  to 
be  written  ;  and  such  was  the  public  curiosity  to  learn  the  con- 
nected story  of  his  eventful  life,  that  I  was  pressed,  on  all  hands, 
to  undertake  the  work.  At  great  inconvenience,  and  under  a 
pressure  of  other  exacting  literary  engagements,  I  consented. 


INTRODUCTION. 


jlt  < 

III   ' 


! 


I!     i 


A  vast  mass  of  materials  was  put  into  my  hands.  Although 
it  had  been  subjected  to  a  certain  system  of  arrangement^  I  did 
not  always  readily  discover  the  key  to  the  connection.  The 
general  plan  of  reference  was  very  simple.  Take  fifty  common- 
place books  numbered,  by  pages,  up  to  seven  thousand,  with  an 
index  of  subjects,  and  you  are  furnished  the  same  facility  of  re- 
ference as  to  a  ledger.  It  is  required  to  find  all  the  available 
information  on  any  particular  subject.  Under  the  proper  head 
in  the  index,  we  are  directed,  lot  us  suppose,  to  page  6,059.  Wo 
find  a  book  numbered  "  6,001  to  6,062."  It  will  therefore  contain 
the  intermediate  number  required.  On  opening  at  the  page  in- 
dicated, we  find  a  number  of  manuscripts,  letters,  leaves  from 
pamphlets,  and  cuttings  from  periodicals,  intermingled  with  writ- 
ten notes  on  slips  of  paper,  cut  to  the  exact  size  necessary  to 
contain  the  observations  noted.  All  these  papers  are  left  loose 
for  facility  of  removal.     ••♦ 

So  far  all  is  plain  sailing.  Deficiencies,  I  soon  found,  had  to 
be  supplied ;  and  I  was  sometimes  puzzled  to  see  the  connection 
of  documents  lying  entombed  between  the  same  pages.  One 
subject  runs  into  another ;  and  to  exhaust  the  available  informa- 
tion on  any  one  point,  an  endless  number  of  references  and  com- 
parisons had  to  be  made.  Some  twenty  years  of  newspaper  files 
had  to  be  carefully  read.  To  give  an  idea  of  the  mass  of  ma- 
terials with  which  I  had  to  deal,  it  will  suflSce  to  say  that  the 
Navy  Island  correspondence  alone,  occupying  a  single  page  of 
one  of  fifty-five  common-place  books — and  there  is  a  second 
series  with  a  second  index — would  make  a  large  printed  volume. 

These  facts  are  characteristic  of  the  methodical  habits  of  the 
man  whose  life  is,  however  imperfectly,  delineated  in  this  work. 

Full  of  the  fiery  energy  of  the  Celtic  race ;  impetuous  and 
daring ;  standing  in  the  front  rank  of  party  combatants,  in  times 
and  in  a  country  where  hard  knocks  were  given  and  taken,  it  was 
the  fate  of  Mr.  Mackenzie  to  have  many  relentless  enemies.  If 
I  had  undertaken  to  refute  all  the  calumnies  of  which  he  was 
the  subject,  and  to  correct  all  the  false  statements  made  to  his 


INTIIODUCTION. 


}S. 


injury,  this  biography  wouUl  liave  taken  a  controversial  form, 
which  must  have  rendered  it  Icbs  acceptable  to  a  large  class  of 
readers.  The  plan  I  have  followed  has  been  to  tell  the  story  of 
his  life  as  I  find  it,  without  much  reference  to  what  friends  or 
enemies,  biased  one  way  or  the  other,  may  have  said  under  the 
excitement  of  events  that  have  now  passed  into  the  great  ocean 
of  history.  There  were  some  few  cases  in  which  it  was  necessary 
to  clear  up  disputed  questions,  over  which  men  still  continue  to 
differ.  .,      . ,  . 

The  striking  want  of  moral  courage  in  many  who  were  engaged 
with  Mackenzie  in  the  unfortunate  and  ill-advised  insurrection,  in 
Upper  Canada,  in  1837,  led  them  to  attempt  to  throw  the  odium 
of  an  enterprise  that  had  failed  in  its  direct  object  entirely  upon 
him.  Men,  of  whose  complicity  in  that  affair  the  clearest  evi- 
dence exists,  cravenly  deny  all  knowledge  of  it.  Mackenzie 
never  shrank  from  his  share  of  the  responsibility.  He  lived  to 
see  and  admit  the  error  of  the  movement,  and  to  express  deep  re- 
gret for  the  part  he  had  taken.  But  an  enterprise  which  cannot 
be  justified,  and  the  engaging  in  which  involved  him  in  ruin,  was 
in  the  end  advantageous  to  the  country.  Much  of  the  liberty 
Canada  has  enjoyed,  since  1840,  and  more  of  the  wonderful  pro- 
gress she  has  made,  are  due  to  the  changes  which  the  insurrection 
was  the  chief  agent  in  producing.  Unless  those  changes  had 
been  made — unless  a  responsible  government  especially  had  been 
established — Canada  would  ef*  now  either  have  been  lost  to  the 
British  Crown ;  or,  ruled  by  the  sword,  it  would  have  been  stunted 
in  its  growth,  its  population  poor,  discontented,  and  ready  to 
seek  the  protection  of  another  power.  The  amelioration  which 
the  political  institutions  of  Canada  have  undergone  would  prob- 
ably have  come  in  time,  if  there  had  been  no  insurrection ;  but 
it  would  not  have  come  so  soon ;  and  there  is  no  reason  to  sup- 
pose that  the  Province  would  yet  have  reached  its  present  stage 
of  advancement. 

Being  several  thousands  of  miles  distant  when  the  insurrection 
and  the  frontier  troubles  took  place,  and  having  never  been  in 


6 


INTRODUCTION. 


Canada  till  several  years  after,  I  lay  under  the  disadvantage  of 
not  having  any  personal  recollection  of  what  occurred  in  those 
stirring  times.  But  considering  the  stores  of  materials  and  tho 
sources  of  information  at  my  command,  perhaps  this  is  no  great 
loss ;  certainly  it  will  be  more  than  compensated  by  the  imparti* 
ality  with  which  an  unconcerned  spectator  can  pass  in  review  the 
events  of  that  troubled  period. 

In  the  private  documents  in  my  possession,  containing  tho  se- 
cret history  of  the  frontier  movements,  I  found  much  that  had 
never  seen  the  light ;  including  projects  of  invasion  and  insurrec- 
tion, of  which  the  public  has  never  had  more  than  the  vaguest 
notions.  The  use  I  have  made  of  these  documents  will,  I  pre- 
sume, not  bo  rofijarded  as  unwarranted. 

I  first  saw  Mr.  Mackenzie,  in  1849,  when  he  came  from  Now 
York  to  Canada,  on  a  visit.  Our  differences  of  opinion  on  the 
politics  of  Canada  during  the  last  ten  years  have  been  notorious. 
Still  I  knew  his  real  views  perhaps  better  than  any  one  else.  In 
private  he  never  co|icealed  his  hand  to  me,  during  the  whole  of 
that  time.  By  the  hour,  when  no  third  person  was  present,  he 
would  speak  with  great  earnestness  and  animation  on  the  claims 
of  justice,  the  odiousness  of  oppression,  and  the  foulness  of  cor- 
ruption. The  offer  of  office  under  tho  Government  was  more 
than  once  obliquely — once,  I  think,  directly — made  to  him  after 
his  return  to  Canada,  and  it  always  threw  him  into  a  fit  of  pas- 
sion. He  received  it  as  an  attempt  to  destroy  his  independence 
or  to  shackle  his  freedom  of  action.  A  thousand  times  I  have 
heard  him  protest  that  he  would  rather  die  of  starvation  than  de- 
scend to  any  meanness,  or  be  guilty  of  any  act  that  would  deprive 
him  of  that  title  to  an  unpurchasable  Patriot,  which  he  deemed 
the  best  heritage  he  could  bequeath  to  his  children. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 

PiQI 

General  Remarks— Maokennie'a  Parenti — Birth — School  Daya — Charaoterlatio  In< 
oidenti — Religiuua  Inatruotion — Booka  bo  read 11 

CHAPTER  II. 

Mackenzie  first  Employed  in  a  Draper's  Shop,  then  in  the  Counting  House  of  Gray 
of  Dundee — Dr.  Chalmers — Starts  business  at  Alyth,  and  fails— Clerk  to  Ken- 
nett  and  Avon  Canal  Co.,  in  England — London — Resolution  to  go  to  Canada — 
France 28 

CHAPTER  III. 

Baila  for  Canada  in  the  Payohe — Peraonal  Appearance — Lachine  Canal  flnnrey— 
Book  and  Drug  Business  in  York  and  Dundas — Dissolves  partnership  irith  Less- 
lie — Removes  to  Queenstown — Politics — School  Trustee 34 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Beaaona  for  going  into  Politioa — Canada  in  1820 — Moderation  of  hia  Political  Prln- 
oiplea— Preaa  in  Upper  Canada  in  1826 — Union  of  the  North  American  Provinces 
— General  Election — Scene  in  Court 39 


CHAPTER  V. 


Removes  to  York — Reports  and  Publishes  Debates — Newspapers  and  Postage- 
Government  in  a  minority  in  New  House — Journey  to  Kingston — Abandons  Po- 
litics for  Literature — Ideal  of  a  Patriot 63 


CHAPTER  VI. 


The  Colonial  Advocate  destroyed  by  an  Official  Mob — Rioters  cast  in  Damages — 
Amount  collected  by  Officials — Criminal  Proceedings  against  Rioters  by  Francis 
Collins  —  Conviction — Presentment  against  Mackenzie  for    Libel    by    Official 

Party 73 

7 


Ill  ^i 


III    >: 


8 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

FAO£ 

Judge  Willis  removed  by  Executive — The  cause — Collins  convicted  of  Libel — Fino 
paid  by  Subscription — Judge  Sherwood's  Direction  denounced — Prosecution 
against  Mackenzie  abandoned — Execution  of  Charles  French 108 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Pecuniary  embarrassments — Fever — Sickness  and  Death  in  the  Family — Robert 
Randall — Alien  Question — Letters  to  Earl  Dalhousie — Difficulty  and  Final  Set- 
tlement of  the  Question— Faith  in  the  Colonial  Office 121 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Printer  to  House  of  Assembly — Not  a  Sure  Partisan — Irresponsible  Government- 
Union  of  Legislative  and  Judicial  Functions — Colonial  Representation  in  Im- 
perial Parliament 137 

CHAPTER  X. 

Candidate  for  Legislative  Assembly — Elected — Allen  McNab  sent  to  Jail,  BouUon 
Reprijianded — Chaplain  of  House — Government  Independent  of  Assembly — 
Sir  J.  Colborne — Specimen  of  Mackenzie's  Oratorical  Powers 143 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Visit  to  United  States — Cameronian  Preaching  and  Scottish  Psalmody — States  and 
Canada  Compared — Charge  of  Disloyalty  met— Action  for  Libel — Session  of 
1830 — Change  of  Administration  demanded — Contemptuous  Reply — Reforms 
proposed 160 

CHAPTER  XIL 

Small  Libel  Suit — Mackenzie  pleads  his  own  Cause  and  Succeeds — Responsible 
Government — Opposition  to  his  Re-election — Successful  Appeal  to  the  People — 
Success  of  the  Official  Party 173 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

McLean  Speaker  in  New  House — State  Church—  Cause  of  the  Party  Revolution — 
State  of  the  Representation — Permanent  Civil  List — An  Attempt  to  Expel  Mac- 
kenzie— Journey  to  Quebec — Shipwreck 187 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Expulsion  of  Mackenzie — Defence  Voted  an  Aggravation  of  his  Offence — Feeling 
excited — Military  Preparations — Public  Meeting — Re-election — Gold  Medal  and 
Chain  Presented 209 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Triumphal  Entry — Commotion  in  the  House— Second  Expulsion — Defence  cut  short 
— Impassioned  Appeal  to  Electors— Ro-election 224 


CONTENTS. 


PAoa 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Populor  Excitement  and  Syiiipatliy— Attempt  to  Assassinate  Mackenzie— Convic- 
tion of  Kerr — Journey  to  England — Procures  the  Dismissal  of  the  Crown  Of- 
ficers— Tories  threaten  to  Revolt — Revisits  Scotland — Returns  to  Canada 244 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Third  Expulsion — Re-elected — House  refuses  to  receive  him — Another  election — 
Forcibly  ejected — New  writ  refused — Proceedings  expunged  from  the  Journals...  288 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

York  changed  to  Toronto — Mackenzie  First  Mayor — Cholera  of  1834— Braves  Dis- 
ease and  Death — Canadian  Alliance  Society — Loss  of  bis  Eldest  Son — Macken- 
zie as  a  Journalist 312 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Meeting  of  the  New  House — Hume's  Letters — Grievance  Committee — Read  by  the 
King — Mackenzie  appointed  Director  of  the  Welland  Canal — Disclosures — 
Hinck's  Career — Visit  to  Papineau — Letter  to  Hume 324 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Bit  Francis  Bond  Head  arrives — His  Speech — Censured — Troubles — Separation 
from  England — Stoppage  of  Supplies  and  Reservation  of  Money  Bills — Dissolu- 
tion of  the  House — Violent  means  to  carry  Elections — Mackenzie  loses  his 
Election — Dangerous  Illness 355 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

The  Conttitutton — Mock  Trial  of  Sir  F,  B.  Head— Samuel  Lount — Fatal  Resolu- 
tions— Session  of  1836,  7 — Its  turbulent  Close — Mackenzie  goes  to  New  York — 
Purchases  at  Trade  Sales  of  Books 390 


I    ,  '. 


/        >  1 


LIFE 


07 


a?.-.-. 


WILLIAM   LYON   MACKENZIE 


CHAPTER  I. 

General  Remarks — Mackenzie's  Parents — His  Birth — School  Days — Touth — 
Characteristic  Incidents — Beligious  Instruction  imposed  by  his  Mother— 
The  Books  he  read. 

Few  men  who  have  led  a  life  of  great  mental  acti 
vity  long  survive  the  abandonment  of  their  accustomed 
habit  of  labor.  Nor  was  it  different  with  Mr.  Mackenzie 
When  he  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Legislative  Assembly, 
in  1858,  few  of  his  colleagues  were  equal  to  the  endur- 
ance he  underwent.  It  was  no  uncommon  thing  for 
him  to  burn  the  midnight  oil  till  streaks  of  gray  were 
visible  in  the  eastern  horizon.  He  would  do  this  three 
or  four  nights  in  the  week.  He  could  jump  as  high, 
and  run  as  fast,  as  the  youngest  and  the  most  athletic 
member  of  the  House.  Every  one  thought  there  were 
still  left  many  years  of  wear  in  his  slender  but  wiry 
frame ;  but  the  seeds  of  mortality  had  been  already  sown 
in  his  system.  As  a  steam  engine  of  disproportionate 
size  shakes  to  pieces  the  too  frail  vessel  in  which  it  is 

11 


12 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,    AND 


/     ' 


placed,  his  ponderous  brain,  overworked  with  long 
years  of  mental  toil,  wore  out  the  bodily  frame.  Nor 
did  the  brain  itself  escape  the  penalty  of  over-exertion. 
Loss  of  memory  was  the  first  symptom  of  the  brain- 
softening  thus  superinduced.  Violent  pains  in  the 
head,  accompanied  by  the  refusal  of  the  stomach  to 
perform  its  accustomed  functions,  followed.  For  the 
last  two  years  of  his  life,  he  failed  more  rapidly  than 
his  most  intimate  friends  were  able  to  realize.  In  his 
declining  health,  pecuniary  embarrassments  threw  a 
gloom  over  the  latter  days  of  his  existence.  Whether 
he  was  himself  aware  of  the  extent  to  which  his  health 
had  failed,  that  the  iron  frame  was  so  far  shaken  and 
debilitated  as  it  was,  it  is  impossible  to  say.  His  te- 
nacity of  life  would  probably  prevent  him  from  ad- 
mitting to  himself  the  true  state  of  the  case ;  and 
though  he  often  spoke  of  the  decline  of  his  strength, 
he  generally  did  so  by  way  of  inquiry  and  with  a  view 
of  eliciting  the  opinion  of  others  on  the  subject.  It 
was  a  point  on  which  he  was  morbidly  sensitive ;  and 
the  last  time  he  was  out,  before  being  confined  to  his 
death-bed,  he  inquired  anxiously  of  one  of  his  daugh- 
ters whether  people  remarked  that  he  was  failing. 
When  he  did  so,  he  drew  himself  up  in  a  more  erect 
posture  and  walked  with  a  show  of  unwonted  firmness, 
as  if  desirous  to  disprove  an  impression  that  he 
dreaded.  Relying  on  the  extraordinary  strength  of 
his  constitution,  he  promised  himself,  in  his  momenta 
of  flickering  hope,  many  years  of  life.  But  at  length 
he  became  weary  of  battling  the  world,  and  was 
anxious  to  lie  down  to  rest. 

The  public  probably  fancied  that  the  Homestead 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


13 


subscription  had  given  him  some  degree  cf  ease  in  his 
worldly  circumstances  ;  but  the  truth  was  that  beyond 
the  house  in  which  he  lived  and  died,  the  product  was 
very  little,  and  when  that  little  was  exhausted,  he 
found  himself  without  an  income.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  the  paper  he  published,  The  Weekly  Message, 
ever  yielded  any  profit ;  and  he  was  finally  compelled 
to  abandon  its  publication.  After  this,  he  lived  on 
borrowed  money,  obtained  at  usurious  rates,  upon  the 
endorsement  of  political  friends.  Whenatlast,hehadto 
battle  with  despair,  ho  ceased  to  desire  to  prolong  the 
painful  endurance  of  life.  One  day  he  remarked  to 
some  members  of  his  family,  that  though  he  would 
not  destroy  the  life  that  God  had  given  him — ^that  he 
had  no  right  to  do  so — he  cared  not  how  soon  it  might 
please  the  Author  of  existence  to  take  back  the  life 
that  he  had  given.  He  died  heart-broken  with  disap- 
pointment, as  much  as  of  brain-softening ;  died  because 
he  no  longer  knew  where  to  find  the  means  of  exist- 
ence, and  because  his  proud  spirit  forbade  him  to  beg. 
From  his  most  intimate  friends,  who  might  have  helped 
him,  he  concealed  the  embarrassments  of  his  pecuniary 
position. 

Such  were  the  causes  of  the  death  of  this  extraor- 
dinary man,  whose  powers  of  agitation,  at  one  period 
of  his  life,  gave  him  an  almost  absolute  command  over 
the  masses  in  his  adopted  country.  When  he  had 
ceased  to  be  able  to  speak  or  write,  he  seemed  much 
concerned  for  his  family ;  and  placed  the  hand  of  the 
mother  of  his  children  in  mine,  as  if  to  commend  her 
to  my  protection.  It  seemed  his  last  hope  and  his 
last  wish. 


14 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


ni   :i 


In  writing  his  biography,  it  will  be  my  duty,  as  far 
as  convenient,  to  allow  him  to  tell  his  own  tale  ;  and 
where  opinions  must  be  expressed,  it  will  be  my  aim 
to  make  them  judicial  and  just,  though  I  may  not  con- 
ceive that  he  was  always  right,  either  in  act  or  opin- 
ion. In  this  spirit  and  with  these  feelings,  I  begin 
this  tale  of  shipwrecked  hopes  and  overwhelming  dis- 
appointments. 

Under  the  head  "  Mackenzie,"*  I  find  among  Mr. 
Mackenzie's  papers  several  slips  of  memoranda,  going 
over  a  long  story  of  pedigrees.  On  reading  them  my 
curiosity  was  excited  to  see  whether  he  was  going  to 
give  point  to  the  recital  by  tracing  his  own  descent 
from  some  of  the  ennobled  members  of  his  family 
name;  but  the  conclusion  somewhat  brusquely  ex- 
cluded any  claim  of  this  kind.  According  to  what 
was  long  the  orthodox  method  of  writing  history,  he 
derived  the  Mackenzies  from  Noah  ;  but  with  this  dif- 
ference, that,  instead  of  pretending  to  complete  the 
chain,  he  made  a  safe  assumption  of  the  fact. 

Mr.  Mackenzie's  parents  were  married  at  Dundee 
on  the  8th  of  May,  1794,  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Macewen.f 

*  "This  ancient  family,"  writes  Mr.  Mackenzie,  "traces  its  descent  from  the 
House  of  Gerald,  Ireland,  (whence  sprung  some  of  the  noble  families  of  Lein- 
ster,  Desmond,  etc.,)  a  member  of  which  and  his  followers  settled  in  Scotland 
about  1261,  and  was  created  Baron  of  Kintail.  His  name  was  Carlinus  Fitz- 
gerald, First  Baron  of  Kintail.  He  married  a  daughter  of  Walter,  High  Stew- 
ard of  Scotland ;  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Kenneth;  who  again  was  succeeded 
by  a  son  of  the  same  name.  Third  Baron  of  Kintail,  called  in  Gaelic,  Ken- 
neth Mackenneth,  which  in  English  was  pronounced  Mackenzie  Mackainzie; 
and  hence  (says  Burke's  peerage)  arose  all  the  families  of  Mackenzie,  in  Scot- 
land." 
f  The  following  entry  is  copied  from  an  old  tVimily  Bible : 
Daniel  Mackenzie  and  Elizabeth  Mackenzie,  both  natives  of  Kirkmichael, 
Perthshire,  Scotland,  were  married  at  Dundee,  by  the  Itev.  Mr.  Macewcn,  on 
the  8th  of  May,  1794. 


THE  CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


15 


Of  this  marriage  William  Lyon  Mackenzie,  the  object 
of  this  biography,  was  the  sole  issue.  He  was  born 
at  Springfield,  Dundee,  Scotland,  on  the  12th  of  March, 
1795  ;*  and  his  father  died  when  the  child  was  only 
twenty-seven  days  old.f  His  death  was  brought  on 
by  a  cold  contracted  at  a  dancing  party ;  and  during 
his  illness,  which  lasted  only  a  few  days,  he  suffered 
severely  from  a  violent  pain  in  the  head.  The  know- 
ledge of  this  circumstance  caused  the  son,  throughout 
his  life,  to  dread  the  severe  pains  in  the  head  with 
which  he  was  occasionally  afflicted,  at  long  intervals, 
and  generally  after  great  and  long  continued  mental 
exertion.  What  he  had  dreaded  all  his  life  came 
upon  him  before  his  death.  For  several  weeks  he 
complained  of  increasing  and  almost  constant  pains 
in  the  head.  At  all  times,  when  they  occurred,  they 
had  been  extremely  violent ;  and  in  his  last  illness, 
but  chiefly  before  he  took  to  his  bed,  or  had  ceased 
to  struggle  against  the  disease,  they  were  the  cause 
of  intense  suffering.  The  discrepancy  between  the 
ages  of  his  parents  was  great ;  his  father  being  only 
twenty-eight  years  old  when  he  died ;  while  his  mo- 
ther had  seen  forty-five  summers  when  her  only  child 
was  born. 
His  mother,  by  the  death  of  her  husband,  who  left 

*  "William  Lyon  Mackenzie,  born  at  Springfield,  Dundee,  Forfarshire,  Scot- 
land, March  12th,  1796.  Baptized  on  the  29th  by  the  Kev.  Mr.  Macewen, 
Seceder  Minister. — Entry  in  Family  Bible. 

J-  Daniel  Mackenzie  died  at  Dundee  on  the  9th  of  April,  1795,  leaving 
only  one  child,  "William  Lyon,  then  twenty-seven  days  old. — Entry  in  Family 
BibU. 


H 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


I!  I  I 


:--i  i 


11 


behind  him  no  property  of  any  account,  became  to  a 
great  extent  dependent  upcm  her  relatives,  of  whom 
she  had  several  in  the  Highlands ;  and  she  sometimes 
lived  with  one  and  sometimes  with  another.  Some 
of  them  were  poor,  others  well  to  do;  and  if  it  b© 
presumed  that  she  gave  the  largest  share  of  her  pa- 
tronage to  the  latter,  the  former  were  probably  not 
missed  in  their  turn.  At  the  same  time  she  always 
managed,  by  some  ingenuity  of  industry,  to  keep  a 
humble  home  over  the  heads  of  herself  and  her  boy. 
Her  constitutional  temperament  always  kept  her  busy, 
let  her  be  where  she  might ;  her  high  nervous  organi- 
zation rendering  inaction  difficult  to  her,  except  to- 
wards the  close  of  her  life.  In  this  respect,  there 
was  a  remarkable  resemblance  between  herself  and 
her  son ;  and  from  her,  it  may  safely  be  affirmed,  he 
derived  the  leading  mental  characteristics  that  distin- 
guished him  through  life. 

She  was  so  small  in  stature  as  to  be  considerably 
below  the  average  size  of  her  sex.  In  complexion 
she  was  a  brunette;  her  hair  was  dark-brown,  till 
whitened  by  age,  and  at  ninety  it  was  as  abundant  as 
ever,  and  always  long.  Her  dark  eyes  were  sharp 
and  piercing,  though  generally  quiet ;  but  when  she 
was  in  anger,  which  did  not  often  occur,  they  flashed 
out  such  gleams  of  fire  as  might  well  appall  an  anta- 
gonist. Her  featu'^es,  corresponding  with  her  size, 
were  small ;  and  the  prominence  of  her  cheek-bones 
gave  unmistakable  indications  of  her  Celtic  origin.  The 
small  mouth  and  the  thin,  compressed  lips,  in  har- 
mony with  the  whole  features,  told  of  that  unconquer- 
able will  which  she  transmitted  to  her  son.    The  fore- 


THE  CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


17 


ame  to  a 
of  whom 
)metimes 
r.    Some 
if  it  be 
her  pa- 
ably  not 
Q  always 
keep  a 
her  boy. 
ler  busy, 
i  organi- 
cept  lo- 
st, there 
3elf  and 
med,  he 
t  distiu- 

derably 
plexion 
wn,  till 
dant  as 
J  sharp 
len  she 
flashed 
n  anta- 
3r  size, 
t-bones 
n.  The 
n  har- 
nquer- 
le  fore- 


head was  broad  and  high,  and  the  face  seldom  relaxed 
into  perfect  placidity ;  there  were  always  on  the  sur- 
face indications  of  the  working  of  the  volcanic  feelings 
within.  The  subduing  influences  of  religion  kept  her 
strong  nature  under  control,  and  gave  her  features 
whatever  degree  of  repose  they  ordinarily  wore. 

Her  strong  religious  bias  made  her  an  incessant 
reader  of  the  Scriptures  and  such  religious  books  as 
were  current  among  the  Seceders.  With  this  kind 
of  literature  she  early  imbued  the  mind  of  her  son ; 
and,  it  would  not  be  difficult  to  show,  the  impressions 
thus  formed  were  never  wholly  efllaced.  Though  of 
Highland  origin,  she  spoke  Gaelic  but  rarely,  it  would 
seem,  for  she  never  imparted  more  than  a  very  slight 
knowledge  of  it  to  her  son.  She  cherished  some  plau- 
sible superstitions,  firmly  believing  that  a  Mackenzie 
never  died  without  warning  of  the  coming  event  being 
given  by  some  invisible  messenger  in  a  strange,  un- 
earthly sound,  and  had  a  strong  suspicion  that  fairies 
were  something  more  than  myths.  The  strongest 
reciprocal  affection  existed  between  her  and  her  son, 
at  whose  house  she  spent  the  last  seventeen  years  of 
her  life,  having  followed  him  to  Canada,  in  company 
with  Mr.  J.  Lesslie,  in  1822,  and  died  at  Rochester, 
N.  Y.,  in  1839,  while  her  son  was  a  state  prisoner, 
in  Monroe  county  jail,  under  sentence  for  a  breach 
of  the  neutrality  laws  of  the  United  States.  She  had 
attained  the  mature  age  of  ninety  years,  a  fact  which 
goes  to  show  that  it  was  through  her  that  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie inherited  a  physical  frame  capable  of  extraor- 
dinary endurance,  as  well  as  his  natural  mental  en- 
dowments. 

8 


18 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,    AND 


Daniel  Mackenzie,  father  of  the  subject  of  this  bio 
gi'aphy,  is  described  as  a  man  of  dark  complexion ;  and 
his  grandfather  Colin  Mackenzie,  used  to  bear  the  cog- 
nonion  of  "  Colin  Dhu,"  or  black  Colin.  Daniel  learned 
weaving  in  all  its  branches ;  but  entering  into  an  unpro-' 
fitable  commercial  speculation,  he  was  reduced  to  keep- 
ing a  few  looms  for  the  manufacture  of  "  green  cloth." 

But  Mr.  Mackenzie  may  here  be  allowed  to  tell  his 
own  tale  of  his  ancestry.  In  June,  1824,  just  when 
he  had  entered  on  his  editorial  career,  he  was  called 
upon  to  meet  the  charge  of  disloyalty ;  and  his  de- 
fence, which  is  in  his  happiest  mood,  shows  how  much 
better  were  his  early  compositions  when  youth  was 
fresh  and  hope  beat  high,  than  those  of  his  later  days, 
when  the  pangs  of  disappointment  had  fastened  upon 
his  soul,  and  the  great  aims  of  his  life  had  miscarried. 

"  My  ancestors  too  stuck  fast  to  the  legitimate  race  of 
kings,  and  though  professing  a  different  religion,  joined 
Charles  Stuart,  whom  (barring  his  faith)  almost  all 
Scotland  considered  as  its  rightful  sovereign.  Colin 
Mackenzie,  my  paternal  grandsire,  was  a  farmer  under 
the  Earl  of  Airly  in  Grlenshee,  in  the  highlands  of 
Perthshire ;  he,  at  the  command  of  his  chieftain,  wil- 
lingly joined  the  Stuart  standard,  in  the  famous  1745, 
as  a  volunteer.  My  mother's  father,  also  named  Colin 
Mackenzie,  and  from  the  same  glen,  had  the  honor  to 
bear  a  commission  from  the  Prince,  and  served  as  an 
officer  in  the  Highland  army.  Both  my  ancestors 
fought  for  the  royal  descendant  of  their  native  kings ; 
and  after  the  fatal  battle  of  Culloden,  my  grandfather 
accompanied  his  unfortunate  prince  to  the  low  coun- 
tries, and  was  abroad  with  him  on  the  continent,  fol- 


THE   CANADIAN    RKIJELLION. 


19 


lowing  his  adverse  fortunes  for  years.  He  returned 
at  length ;  married,  in  his  native  glen,  my  grandmo- 
ther," Elizabeth  Spalding,  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Spalding, 
of  Ashintully  castle,  and  my  aged  mother  was  the 
youngest  but  two  of  ten  children,  the  fruit  of  that 
marriage.  The  marriage  of  my  parents  was  not  pro- 
ductive of  lasting  happiness ;  my  father,  Daniel  Mac- 
kenzie, returned  to  Scotland  from  Carlisle,  where  he 
had  been  to  learn  the  craft  of  Rob  Roy's  cousin,  Dea- 
con Jarvie  of  the  Saltmarket,  Glasgow,  or  in  other 
words,  the  weaving  business,  took  sickness,  became 
blind,  and  in  the  second  year  of  his  marriage  with  my 
mother  died,  being  in  his  twenty-eighth  or  twenty- 
ninth  year.  I  was  only  three  weeks  old  at  his  death ; 
my  mother  took  upon  herself  those  vows  which  our 
Church  prescribes  as  needful  at  baptism,  and  was  left 
to  struggle  with  misfortune,  a  poor  widow,  in  want 
and  in  distress.  It  is  among  the  earliest  of  my  re- 
collections, that  I  lay  in  bed  one  morning  during  the 
grievous  famine  in  Britain,  in  1800-1,  while  my  poor 
mother  took  from  our  large  Kist  (which  is  an  article 
of  furniture  of  a  sort  only  to  be  found  among  the 
Scotch  and  Irish)  the  handsome  plaid  of  the  tartan 
of  our  clan,  which  in  early  life  her  own  hands  had 
spun,  and  went  and  sold  it  for  a  trifle,  to  obtain  for 
us  a  little  coarse  barley  meal,  whereof  to  make  our 
scanty  breakfast ;  and  of  another  time  during  the  same 
famine,  that  she  left  me  at  home  crying  from  want  and 
hunger,  and  for  (I  think)  8s.  sold  a  handsome  and 
hitherto  carefully  preserved  priest-gray  coat  of  my  fa- 
ther's to  get  us  a  little  food.  How  the  mechanics  and 
laborers  contrived  to   exist  during    these  times,   is 


20 


LIFE   OF   MACKFCXZIE,   AND 


what  I  cannot  toll;  my  recollections  of  this  period  are 
faint  and  indistinct.  Well  may  I  love  the  poor, 
greatly  may  I  esteem  the  humble  and  the  lowly,  for 
poverty  and  adversity  were  my  nurses,  and  in  youth 
wore  want  and  misery  my  familiar  friends ;  even  now 
it  yields  a  sweet  satisfaction  to  my  soul,  that  I  can 
claim  kindred  with  the  obscure  cottar,  and  the  hum- 
ble laborer,  of  my  native,  ever  honored,  ever  loved 
Scotland. 


ill 


« 'Long  may  thy  hardy  sons  of  rustic  toil 

Be  blost  with  health,  and  poaco,  and  sweot  content  I" 

"  My  mother  feared  God,  and  he  did  not  forget  nor 
forsake  her :  never  in  my  early  years  can  I  recollect 
that  divine  worship  was  neglected  in  our  little  family, 
when  health  permitted;  never  did  she  in  family 
prayer  forget  to  implore  that  He,  who  doeth  all  things 
well,  would  establish  in  righteousness  the  throne  of 
our  monarch,  setting  wise  and  able  counsellors  around 
it.  A  few  of  my  relations  were  well  to  do,  but  many 
of  them  were  poor  farmers  and  mechanics,  (it  is  true 
my  mother  could  claim  kindred  with  some  of  the  first 
families  in  Scotland;  but  who  that  is  great  and 
wealthy,  can  sit  down  to  count  kindred  with  the 
poor?)  yet  amongst  these  poor  husbandmen,  as  well 
as  among  their  ministers,  were  religion  and  loyalty 
held  in  as  due  regard,  as  they  had  been  by  their  ances- 
tors in  the  olden  time.  Was  it  from  the  precept — 
was  it  from  the  example  of  such  a  mother  and  such 
relations,  that  I  was  to  imbibe  that  disloyalty,  demo- 
cracy, falsehood,  and  deception,  with  which  my  writ- 


THE   CANADIAN   ItKUELLlON. 


21 


inga  arc  by  the  government  editor*  charged?  Surely 
not.  If  I  had  followed  the  example  shown  mo  by  my 
surviving  i)arent,  I  had  done  w  -ll ;  but  aa  I  grow  up 
I  became  careless,  and  neglected  public  and  privato 
devotion.  Plainly  can  I  trace  from  this  period,  tho 
commencement  of  these  errors  of  the  head,  and  of 
the  heart,  which  have  since  embittered  my  cup,  and 
strewed  my  path  with  thorns,  where  at  my  ago  I 
might  naturally  have  expected  to  pluck  roses. 

"  Earnestly  did  my  mother  desire  mo  to  honor  my 
heavenly  King,  to  remember  my  Creator  in  the  days 
of  my  youth,  and  I  at  this  distant  day  have  much 
greater  cause  to  regret  the  little  attention  I  then  paid 
to  her  well  meant  admonitiors  in  that  respect,  than  to 
take  blame  to  myself  for  either  thinking  or  speaking 
disrespectfully  of  our  anointed  sovereign.  The  cele- 
brated traveller,  my  namesake.  Sir  Alexander  Mac- 
kenzie, died  on  the  same  month  on  which  I  was  born, 
and  just  a  quarter  of  a  century  thereafter.  I  came 
into  existence  the  12th  of  March,  1795 ;  he  left  the 
world  the  same  date,  1820;  he  was  no  kinsman  of 
mine,  but  he  was  a  Mackenzie,  and  if  I  can  spread 
the  fame  of  The  Advocatef  to  regions  as  far  west  as  to 
whore  he  travelled,  I  shall  be  very  well  satisfied, 
whether  Sir  Thomas  gets  his  copy  or  not." 

His  first  school-teacher  was  Mr.  Kinnear,  of  Dun- 
dee, who  was  master  of  a  parish  school.  One  of  his 
school-mates,J  from  whom  I  have  sought  information, 

*  Mr.  Charles  Fothergill,  editor  of  the  Upper  Canada  Oaxette,  then  published 
in  Toronto,  and  King's  Printer.  The  Gazette,  like  tho  Moniteur  of  Paris,  had 
an  ofScial  and  a  non-offlcial  side. 

f  The  name  of  the  first  newspaper  ho  published. 

\  Mrs.  Keid,  of  liochestcr,  N.  Y. 


22 


LIFE   OF    MACKENZIE,  AND 


1 

i 

describes  him  as  a  "bright  boy,  with  yellow  hair, 
wearing  a  blue  short  coat  with  yellow  buttons."  The 
school-house,  large  and  well  lighted,  had  previously 
been  a  Catholic  chapel.  The  stone  basin,  placed  in 
a  niche  in  the  wall,  which  had  formerly  been  a  repo- 
sitory of  "  holy  water,"  was  now  converted  into  a  seat 
of  punishment,  called  the  "  holy  cup."  Though  very 
small  when  he  first  entered,  Willie,  as  he  was  called, 
was  generally  at  the  head  of  his  class.  His  progress 
in  arithmetic,  particularly,  was  very  rapid.  He 
was  often  asked  to  assist  other  boys  in  the  solution 
of  problems  which  baffled  their  skill ;  and  while  he 
rendered  this  service,  he  would  pin  i)apers  or  draw 
grotesque  faces,  with  chalk,  on  their  coat  backs.  "  He 
was  ever  ready,"  says  my  informant,  "  to  help  the 
girls,  particularly  if  they  were  good  looking."  Even 
then  his  power  of  declamation  was  considerable,  and 
on  one  occasion  the  school  was  made  a  scene  of  up- 
roar and  confusion,  on  his  account ;  the  scholars  shout- 
ing at  the  top  of  their  A'^oices  and  hissing  at  the  mas- 
ter.    The  thing  happened  in  this  wise. 

One  day  he  went  into  the  master's  closet,  donned 
the  fool's  cap,  and  with  the  long  leather  taws  tied  a 
canvass  sack  round  his  shoulders,  and  then,  with  birch 
in  hand,  he  took  his  seat  on  the  "  holy  cup,"  to  the 
great  amusement  both  of  the  boj^s  and  girls.  While 
thus  seated,  making  grotesque  faces  and  speechifying, 
in  walked  the  dominie,  a  man  six  feet  eight  and  propor- 
tionably  stout,  just  when  the  mirth  was  at  its  height. 
Though  boiling  ov^er  with  rage,  Mr.  Kinnear  could 
hardly  escape  the  contagion  of  the  general  laughter. 
When  angry,  his  face  was  any  thing  but  prepossess- 


THE  CANADIAN"  REBELLION. 


23 


ing.  Little  Willie  saw  the  danger  and  attempted  to 
escape ;  but  he  came  back  at  the  demand  of  the  an- 
gry voice  of  the  excited  dominie.  The  crime  of  going 
into  the  sacred  apartment  of  the  master  must  be  vis- 
ited with  condign  punishment.  Willie's  hand  being 
held  out  was  touched  with  a  small  brush,  dipped  in 
whitening,  made  from  "  calmstone,"  and  then  struck 
with  the  taws  twelve  times,  till  his  face  was  all  spotted 
over.  Then  he  was  conducted  back  to  the  holy  cup. 
This  exhibition  excited  the  indignation  of  the  larger 
boys,  who  hissed  and  shouted,  till  a  scene  of  perfect 
confusion  was  created,  in  the  midst  of  which  some, 
who  were  particularly  conspicuous  in  their  demon- 
strations, were  seized  by  the  indignant  dominie,  and 
imprisoned  in  a  small  room ;  by  which  means  peace 
was  restored.  Willie  was  ordered  to  go  to  the  mas- 
ter's house  next  day ;  whence,  after  being  detained  a 
few  minutes,  he  returned  with  his  face  as  radiant  as 
ever.  When  the  dominie's  back  was  turned,  he  made 
such  grimaces  as  he  alone  could  make.  Young  Macken- 
zie's overpowering  sense  of  the  ridiculous,  which  on 
this  occasion  he  tried  to  excite  in  others,  adhered  to 
him  through  life.  After  leaving  Mr.  Kinnear's  school, 
he  went  to  that  of  Mr.  Adie ;  but  how  long  he  spent 
there  cannot  be  ascertained. 

At  the  age  of  ten  years,  some  difficulty  occurring 
between  him  and  his  mother,  he  resolved  to  leave 
home,  and  set  up  on  his  own  account.  For  this  pur- 
pose he  induced  some  other  boys,  of  about  his  own 
age,  to  accompany  him  to  the  Grampian  Hills,  among 
which  he  had  often  been  taken,  and  where,  in  a  small 
castle  which  was  visible  from  Dundee,  and  of  which 


24 


LIFE    OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


they  intended  to  take  possession,  they  made  the  ro- 
mantic resolve  of  leading  the  life  of  hermits.  They 
never  reached  the  length  of  the  castle,  however, 
and  after  strolling  about  a  few  days,  during  part  of 
which  they  were  terribly  frightened  at  the  supposed 
proximity  of  fairies,  they  were  glad  to  trudge  their 
way  back  to  the  town,  half  famished.  This  incident 
is  characteristic,  and  might  have  been  regarded  as 
prophetic;  for  the  juvenile  brain  that  planned  such 
enterprises  would  not  be  likely  to  be  restrained,  in 
after  life,  where  daring  is  required.  In  it  we  see  the 
same  impatience  of  restraint  that  impelled  Captain 
John  Smith,  best  known  by  his  association  with  Poca- 
hontas, to  sell  his  books  and  satchel,  when  a  mere 
urchin,  with  a  determination  to  steal  away  to  sea. 

It  is  probable  that  the  difficulty  between  young 
Lyon  and  his  mother,  which  led  to  this  escapade,  arose 
out  of  the  long  reading  tasks  which  it  was  her  cus- 
tom to  impose  upon  him.  He  was  in  this  way  tho- 
roughly drilled  in  the  Westminster  Catechism  and 
Confession  of  Faith ;  he  got  the  Psalms  and  large  por- 
tions of  the  Bible  by  rote,  and  was  early  initiated 
into  "  Baxter's  Call  to  the  Unconverted,"  and  several 
similar  w^orks.  When  one  of  these  tasks  had  been 
given  him,  his  mother  used  to  confine  him  closely  till 
it  had  been  mastered.  That  he  sometimes  felt  these 
reading  tasks  to  be  irksome  is  known  from  his  own 
statements ;  and  his  idea,  in  mature  life,  was  that  the 
thing  had  been  overdone.  This  early  exercise  of  the 
memory,  it  may  be  reasonably  assumed,  tended  to 
give  to  that  faculty  the  strength  wliich  in  after  life 
was  a  source  of  astonishment  to  many.      Perhaps, 


THE  CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


25 


however,  those  who  did  not  know  Mr.  Mackenzie's 
personal  habita  often  attributed  to  his  unaided  me- 
mory much  that  was  the  result  of  reference  to  those 
stores  of  information  which  he  never  ceased  to  collect, 
and  which  were  so  arranged  as  to  admit  of  easy  access 
at  any  moment.  It  would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose 
that  the  large  amount  of  religious  reading  he  was 
compelled,  at  an  early  age,  to  go  through  gave  him  a 
distaste  for  that  kind  of  literature.  On  the  contrary, 
what  had  been  imposed  as  a  task  seems  to  have  be- 
come, in  time,  a  pleasure,  if  we  may  judge  by  the 
list  of  theological  works  which  he  voluntarily  read 
between  the  ages  of  eleven  and  twenty-four  years. 
He  has  left  in  his  own  hand-writing  a  list  of  "  some 
of  the  books  read,  between  the  years  1806  and  1819, 
by  W.  L.  Mackenzie,"*  in  which  are  fifty-four  works 
under  the  head  of  "  Divinity,"  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
eight  on  History  and  Biography,  fifty-two  of  Travels 
and  Voyages,  thirty-eight  on  Geography  and  Topo- 
graphy, eighty-five  on  Poetical  and  Dramatic  Litera- 
ture, forty-one  on  Education,  fifty -one  on  Arts,  Science, 
and  Agriculture,  one  hundred  and  sixteen  Miscel- 
laneous, and  three  hundred  and  fifty-two  Novels ; 
making,  in  all,  nine  hundred  and  fifty-eight  volumes, 
in  thirteen  years.  One  year  he  read  over  two  hun- 
dred volumes.  Here  the  list  ends,  and  it  may  be  taken 
for  granted  Mr.  Mackenzie's  reading  of  books  became 
less  after  1824,  when  he  got  immersed  in  politics,  and 


*  See  Appendix  A.    The  number  of  books  read  was  thus  distributed  over 

the  different  years:— In  1806-7,  89  vols.;  1808-9,  204  vols.;  1810,  79  vols.; 

1811,  52  vols. ;  1812-13,  61  vols.;  1814-15,  198  vols.;  1816,  48  vols.;  1817, 
63  vols. ;  1818,  49  vols. ;  1819,  88  vols. ;  1820,  27  vols. 


i     ' 


•I  HI 


I      'I 


2G 


LIFE   OF    MACKENZIE,  AND 


had  a  newspaper  to  conduct.  It  is  not  often  that  the 
world  is  enabled  to  see,  at  a  glance,  the  stores  of  in- 
formation by  which  the  mind  of  a  remarkable  man 
has  been  enriched  and  modified ;  and  it  is  peculiarly 
fortunate  that  a  catalogue  has  been  preserved,  in  this 
case.  With  his  tenacious  memory,  Mr.  Mackenzie 
must  have  been  enabled  to  draw,  from  time  to  time, 
upon  these  stores,  during  the  rest  of  his  life.  The 
works  are  confined  almost  exclusively  to  the  English 
language ;  and  the  truth  is,  that  he  had  only  an  im- 
perfect knowledge  of  any  other.  Otherwise  there  is 
little  reason  to  object  to  the  want  of  variety,  and  there 
does  not  appear  to  be  any  reason  why  they  should 
have  given  any  undue  bias  to  the  mind.  Of  a  ten- 
dency to  scepticism,  of  which  he  was  accused  in  the 
latter  part  of  his  life — with  what  justice  will  here- 
after be  seen — there  is,  in  the  works  which  must  have 
tended  to  give  a  cast  to  his  mind,  an  almost  entire 
absence. 

In  whatever  occupations  young  Mackenzie  was  en- 
gaged, from  the  period  of  his  leaving  school  to  his 
coming  to  Canada,  the  facts  already  stated  show  that 
he  was  constantly  storing  his  mind  with  varied  infor- 
mation. His  mother  used  to  tell  how,  when  a  little 
boy,  he  would  read  till  after  midnight — different  books 
it  may  be  presumed  from  those  in  which  his  daily 
tasks  were  set — till  she  thought  "  the  laddie  would 
read  himsel'  out  o'  his  judgment." 

In  early  youth,  politics  already  possessed  a  charm 
for  him ;  the  Dundee,  Perth,  and  Cupar  Advertiser^ 
the  first  newspaper  he  ever  read,  serving  to  gratify 
this  inclination.     But  he   was  soon  admitted  to  a 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


27 


wider  range  of  political  literature ;  for  he  was  intro- 
duced to  the  Dundee  news-room,  at  so  early  a  period 
of  life  that  he  was  for  years  after  its  youngest 
member. 

The  adventurous  life  of  a  sailor  had,  at  one  time, 
strong  fascinations  for  him.  His  own  account  of  this 
boyish  fancy  runs :  '*  When  a  little  fellov/  at  school,  I 
had  at  one  time  a  strong  inclination,  for  the  sea,  and 
used  after  school-hours,  or  between  them,  to  accom- 
pany some  of  my  playmates  to  the  pier,  and  wager 
marbles  which  of  us  could  soonest  double  the  cap, 
pass  the  double  cross-trees,  and  turn  this  vessel's 
vane.  I  well  remember  that  I  won  more  marbles 
than  I  lost  in  this  way ;  and  when  I  went  on  board 
the  venerable  ship,  tight  and  in  good  condition  as  she 
still  remains,  and  had  fairly  recognized  my  old  ac- 
quaintance, I  felt  a  mingled  sensation  of  pain  and 
pleasure,  at  the  recollection  of  the  past."*  His  ven- 
turesome habits,  when  a  boy,  once  nearly  lost  hiin  his 
life.  With  a  courage  above  his  skill,  he  plunged  into 
the  waters  of  the  Tay,  making  an  effort  to  swim,  and 
sank  twice  before  be  was  rescued. 

*  This  was  in  1833,  when  he  revisited  his  native  town. 


28 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


ll>  ■  i 


111 


CHAPTER   II. 

Young  Mackenzie  is  employed  in  a  Draper's  shop — Then  in  the  Counting 
House  of  Mr.  Gray,  of  Dundee — Meets  Dr.  Chalmers  before  he  had  emerged 
from  obscurity — Starts  business  at  Alyth,  near  Dundee,  when  under  age, 
and  fails — Goes  to  England — Certificate  of  the  Minister  and  Session  Clerk 
of  Alyth — Becomes  Clerk  to  the  Kennett  and  Avon  Canal  Company  in  Eng- 
land— Seeks  employment  in  London — The  resolution  to  go  to  Canada — 
First  visits  France. 

For  a  short  time  after  leaving  school,  and  when  he 
must  have  been  a  mere  boy,  he  was  put  into  Mr. 
Henry  Tulloch's  draper's  shop,  High  Street,  Dundee; 
but  disliking  the  situation,  he  did  not  long  remain 
there';  probably  only  a  few  months. 

He  afterwards  became  an  indentured  clerk  in  the 
counting  house  of  Gray,  a  wood  merchant,  in  a  large 
way  of  business,  in  Dundee.  Mr.  Mackenzie's  papers 
relating  to  the  early  part  of  his  life  were,  with 
others,  placed  with  some  friend  in  the  country,  at  the 
time  of  the  rebellion ;  but  the  custodians,  of  what 
might  be  dangerous  documents,  got  alarmed  on  the 
execution  of  Lount  and  Matthews  for  high  treason, 
and  they  committed  the  papers  to  the  flames.  It  be- 
comes more  difficult,  for  this  reason,  to  fix  dates  with 
precision  at  this  period  of  his  life.  Of  Mr.  Gray, 
Mr.  Mackenzie  was  in  the  habit  of  speaking  in  the 
liighest  terms.     In  a  letter,  dated  Dundas,  March  16, 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


29 


1850,  he  said :  "  Mr.  Grray,  an  excellent  man,  was  one 
of  my  earliest  and  best  friends.  I  was  then  a  clerk 
in  his  counting  room,  under  indenture  for  a  term  of 
years,  and  well  remember  going  over  occasionally  to 
his  brother-in-law's,  at  Kilmany,  in  Fife,  where  I  first 
saw  Dr.  Chalmers,  then  about  thirty  years  old,  and 
living  in  comparative  obscurity.  He  appears  to  have 
been  deeply  impressed,  while  at  Kilmany,  with  the 
benefits  conferred  upon  society  by  the  religious  in- 
struction of  youth  at  Sunday  Schools.  Chalmers  was 
no  ordinary  man,  but  truly  great  and  good."  It  was 
probably  while  in  the  counting  house  of  Mr.  Gray 
that  Mr.  Mackenzie  acquired  that  knowledge  of  the 
mysteries  of  accounts,  which  afterwards  made  his  ser- 
vices of  considerable  value  as  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Public  Accounts,  in  the  Legislative  Assem- 
bly of  Canada,  and  which  has  enabled  him  to  render 
important  service  in  the  Welland  Canal  investigation, 
and  on  other  occasions,  when  financial  mysteries  had 
to  be  solved. 

At  an  early  age,  apparently  when  he  was  about 
nineteen,  he  went  into  business  for  himself  at  Alyth, 
some  twenty  miles  from  Dundee,  setting  up  a  general 
store,  such  as  is  kept  in  country  places,  in  connection 
with  a  circulating  library.  He  remained  here  for 
three  years,  when  the  result  of  inexperience  assumed 
the  shape  of  a  business  failure.  His  creditors  were 
all  honorably  paid  after  he  had  acquired  the  necessary 
means  in  Canada,  at  the  distance  of  some  years. 

It  was  about  the  middle  of  May,  1817,  when  he  left 
Alyth ;  and  he  soon  afterwards  went  to  England.  The 
time  when  he  went  to  Alyth  and  when  he  left  is  fixed 


jl 


30 


.  LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


ill 


'i 


II 


!i! 


u  i 


by  a,  certificate,  signed  by  tlie  minister  and  the  clerk  of 
session  at  that  place,  written  shortly  before  his  depar- 
ture for  Canada : 

"Altth,  March  30,  1820. 

"That  the  bearer,  Lyon  Mackenzie,  resided  in  this 
Parish  about  three  years  preceding  Whitsunday, 
eighteen  hundred  and  seventeen,  when  he  removed 
from  this  Parish,  without  anything  known  to  us,  at 
his  removal  hence,  to  prevent  him  from  being  admitted 
into  any  Christian  Society,  or  partaking  of  Church 
privileges,  is  attested  by. 

*'  Wm.  Ramsay,  Minister. 

*<Edw.  Paterson,  Session  Clerk." 

Young  Mackenzie  afterwards,  leaving    his   native 

Scotland,  crossed  to  the  South  of  the  Tweed  ;  where  at 

one  time  we  find  him  filling  the  situation  of  Clerk  to 

the  Kennett  and  Avon  Canal  Company,*  at  another 

•  The  following  summons  proves  him  to  have  boon   in  the  employment  of 

this  Company  in  October,  1818;  which  was  eighteen  months  before  he  sailed 

for  Canada. 

To  all  Constables.  Tythingmen,  and  others.  His  Majesty's  Officer! 

of  the  Peace  in  and  for  the  said  County,  whom  these  may  concern, 

any  or  either  of  them. 

These  are  in  His  Majesty's  Name,  to  will  and  require  you,  on  Sight  hereof, 
to  summon  David  Slowly,  Captain  of  the  boat  No.  6,  Euclid  Shaw,  of  Bath, 
owner,  personally  to  be  and  appear  before  me,  and  such  other  of  his  Majesty's 
Justices  of  the  Peace  for  the  said  County  of  Wilts  as  shall  be  present  at  the 
Town  Hall  in  Devizes,  in  the  said  County,  on  Tuesday,  the  Tenth  day  of  No- 
vember next,  at  eleven  of  the  clock  in  the  forenoon,  to  answer  to  what  is  and 
shall  be  on  His  Majesty's  Behalf  objected  against  him  by  William  Lyon  Mac- 
kenzie, Clerk  to  the  Kennett  and  Avon  Canal  Company,  for  having,  on  the  tliird  of 
October  instant,  offended  against  the  eleventh  article  of  the  said  Company's 
Bye-Law^s,  by  carrying  shafts  and  poles  constructed  contrary  to  the  same.* 
And  you  are  to  attend  at  the  time  and  place  above  appointed  for  the  appear- 
ance of  the  said  parties,  and  to  make  return  of  this  precept  and  of  the  execution 
hereof. 

Herein  fail  not  at  your  perils.     Given  under  my  Hand  and  Seal,  the  tenth 
day  of  October,  in  the  fifty-eighth  year  of  the  reign  of  our  Sovereign  Lord 


■Wiltshire, 

TO  WIT. 


THE   CANA'DIAN    KEBELLION. 


31 


time  in  London ;  and  ho  used  to  relate  that  ho  wag  for 
a  short  time  in  the  cinph)y  of  P]arl  Lonsdale,  as  a 
clerk. 

In  the  autumn  before  ho  left  for  Canada,  our  future 
emigrant  was  in  London,  where  he  appears  to  have 
been  either  without  employment  or  not  to  have  been 
so  satisfactorily  engaged  as  to  preclude  the  desire  of  a 
change.  A  correspondence  took  place  between  him 
and  a  Mr.  Wm.  Dunsford,  who  held  an  office  in  a  Canal 
Comj^any's  office,  at  Swindon,  Wiltshire.  There  was 
a  question  of  the  Company  establishing  a  Gauging 
Dock;  and  if  this  was  done,  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  to  be 
recommended  for  an  office  in  connection  with  it.  The 
Committee  of  Directors,  with  whom  the  decision  would 
rest,  was  not  to  meet  till  December,  1819;  and  what- 
ever was  the  result  at  which  they  arrrived,  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie was  destined  to  cross  the  Atlantic  and  become 
a  resident  of  Canada  next  Spring.  Mr.  Dunsford,  in 
October,  writes  in  a  friendly,  if  not  very  encouraging 
tone,*  and  adds  a  postscript,  asking  to  borrow  the  for- 

Georgb  tho  Third,  by  the  Grnce  of  God  of  the  Unitod  Kingdom  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland  King,  and  in  tho  year  of  our  Lord,  1818. 

HENRY  BAYNSTON. 

♦  Canal  Office,  Swindon,  October  18,  1819. 

Sir: — I  received  your  letter  of  the  15th  yesterday,  and  am  sorry  you  have 
not  succeeded  in  making  an  arrangement  with  the  K.  &  A.  Co.,  to  allow  us 
the  use  of  their  Tables.  I  do  not  expect  that  Mr.  Thomas  will  communicato 
with  me  on  the  subject.  The  very  liberal  ideas  of  that  gentleman  as  to  the 
neighboring  Canals,  as  you  represented  thera  to  me,  forbid  the  hope  of  such 
an  accommodation. 

I  therefore  look  forward  to  tho  time  when  tho  Companies  for  whom  I  am 
concerned  will  be  able  to  set  on  foot  an  establishment  of  their  own  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  it  shall  not  be  my  fault  if  this  is  delayed  a  moment  after  the  neces- 
sary means  can  be  procured ;  but  you  are  aware  that  such  a  thing  cannot  bo 
eifocted  in  a  moment,  and  that  before  tho  expenditure  of  at  least  £700  or  £800 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,    AND 


inula  of  certain  gauging  tables  belonging  to  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie. ':'  •<  '  '  ",.     1 

That  he  was  probably  without  employment,  and  was 
certainly  in  search  of  an  occupation,  in  October,  1819, 
appears  from  Mr;  Dunsford's  letter;  and  as  he  con* 
ceived  ho  had  not  met  with  fair  usage,  it  is  probable 
that  it  was  not  long  after  this  time  when  he  resolved 
to  sail  for  Canada  the  next  Spring.  He  appears  then 
to  have  only  just  left  Swindon  and  the  Kennett  and 
Avon  Canal  Company;  for  Mr*  Dunsford,  at  that  date, 
mentions  the  failure  of  Mr.  Mackenzie's  attempt  to 
eflfect  a  certain  arrangement  with  his  employers  to 
allow  their  Gauging  Tables  to  be  used  by  another 
Company.  This  occurrence  must  have  been  of  recent 
date ;  and  it  is  probable  that  Mr.  Dunsford  replied  as 
soon  as  he  learned  from  Mr.  Mackenzie  the  result  of 
the  application,  which  may  be  presumed  to  have  been 
made  before  the  latter  left  the  service  of  the  Canal 
Company. 

can  be  resolved  upon,  the  Committee  will  require  time  for  deliberation.  Their 
next  meeting  is  not  till  the  middle  of  December,  and  until  that  time,  all  that 
I  can  say  is,  that  in  the  event  of  their  determining  on  a  Gauging  establish- 
ment, I  should  not  hesitate  to  recommend  you  to  their  notice,  being  perfectly 
satisfied  of  your  competency  for  the  business,  and  not  doubting  the  testimonials 
you  could  bring  to  your  character.  I  will  further  add  that  the  salary  you  ex- 
pect would  not  be  objected  to,  together  with  a  comfortable  house  for  your  resi- 
dence. Under  these  circumstances,  it  appears  to  me  that  you  had  better  not 
omit  any  favorable  appointment  that  may  ofier  for  your  settlement ;  but  should 
you  not  be  better  provided,  in  the  event  of  our  building  a  Gauging  Dock, 
upon  your  favoring  me  with  your  future  address  when  convenient,  I  will  not 
fail  to  remember  you ;  and  wishing  you  the  success  you  appear  to  deserve,  and 
better  usage  than  you  say  you  have  had, 

I  remain  your  obedient  servant, 

William  Dunsford. 
If  you  feel  no  objection  to  sending  me  the  formula  of  your  Gauging  Tables, 
I  should  be  obliged,  as  it  would  assist  me  in  explaining  the  system  to  our  Com- 
mittees better  than  my  memory  will  serve. 


14 


THE  CANADIAN  IREBELLION. 


33 


The  idea  of  going  to  Canada  is  said  to  have  been 
first  suggested  to  Mr.  Mackenzie  by  Mr.  Edward 
Lesslie,  of  Dundee.  He  was  elated  at  the  prospect 
which  the  New  World  held  out  to  him,  and  gave  ex- 
pression to  his  hilarity  in  a  demonstrative  manner. 

Before  starting  for  Canada,  he  visited  France.  The 
date  of  this  visit  cannot  now  be  fixed  with  certainty ; 
but  it  was  probably  in  November  or  December,  1819. 

He  confesses  to  having,  a  little  before  this  time, 
plunged  into  the  vortex  of  dissipation  and  contracted 
a  fondness  for  play.  But  all  at  once,  he  abandoned 
the  dangerous  path  on  which  he  had  entered,  and  after 
the  age  of  twenty-one  never  played  a  game  at  cards. 
A  more  temperate  man  than  he  was,  for  the  rest  of 
his  life,  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  find.         -■■[ 


\ 


•  > 


34 

LIFE   OF   MACKENZIli:,   AND 

( 

i  •                            ' 

■  .    '        »" 

'"'    i 

»    ' 

■    -o                                                                           '          t 

\ 

« 

1                    '                                                                                          ' 
• 

>  , 

!W^ 


I  ..! 


CHAPTER   III. 

Bails  for  Canada  in  the  Psycho — Personal  Appearance — Is  connected  with  the 
Lachino  Canal  Survey — Enters  into  the  Book  and  Drug  Business  in  York — 
Afterwards  in  Dundas — The  Partnership  with  Losslio  Dissolved — Starts  a 
separate  business  in  Dundas — Removes  to  Queonstown— Abandons  Mcrcantilo 
Business  for  Politics— The  First  Office  that  ho  is  Elected  to  is  that  of  School 
Trustee. 

In  April,  1820,  there  was  among  the  passengers  of 
the  Psyche,  bound  for  Canada,  and  commanded  by 
Captain  Thomas  Erskine,  a  young  man  just  turned 
twenty-five  years  of  age,  born  of  poor  Scottish  pa- 
rents ;  whose  mother,  widowed  in  his  infancy,  had 
sometimes  been  at  a  loss  to  find  the  plainest  food  for 
his  nourishment;  a  young  man  who  had  been  a  clerk 
in  a  counting  house,  at  Dundee ;  who  had  tried  mer- 
cantile business  on  his  own  account,  in  a  small  Scot- 
tish market  town,  and  failed ;  who  had  held  a  clerk- 
ship under  a  company  and  a  nobleman  in  England  ; 
who,  without  having  enjoyed  any  other  advantage  of 
education  than  the  j)arochial  and  secondary  schools  of 
Dundee  ofii^red,  had  a  mind  well  stored  with  varied 
information  which  he  had  devoured  with  the  appetite 
of  a  literary  glutton ;  who  was  so  little  known  that 
his  departure  from  his  dear  native  soil  excited  no 
public  interest  or  attention.  Yet  was  it  fated  that  this 
young  man  should  change  the  destiny  of  the  country 


'I 


THE  CANADIAN   RKBELLION. 


35 


to  which  the  good  ship  Psyche  was  bearing  him.  He 
was  of  slight  buihl  and  scarcely  of  medium  height, 
being  only  five  feet  si\  inches  in  stature.  His  massive 
head,  high  and  broaii  in  the  frontal  region  and  well 
rounded,  looked  too  largo  for  the  slight  wiry  frame  it 
surmounted.  He  was  already  bald  from  the  effects  of 
a  fever.  His  keen,  restless,  piercing  blue  eye,  which 
threatened  to  road  your  most  interior  thoughts,  and 
the  ceaseless  and  expressive  activity  of  his  fingers, 
which  unconsciously  opened  and  closed,  betrayed  a 
temperament  that  could  not  brook  inaction.  The  chin 
was  long  and  rather  broad ;  and  the  lirm-set  mouth 
indicated  a  will  which,  however  it  might  be  baffled 
and  thwarted,  could  not  be  subdued.  The  lips,  firmly 
pressed  together,  constantly  undulated  in  a  mass, 
moving  all  that  part  of  the  face  which  lies  below  the 
nostrils;  with  this  motion  the  twinkling  of  the  eyes 
seemed  to  keep  time,  and  gave  an  appearance  of 
unrest  to  the  whole  countenance.  The  deep  dimples 
in  the  cheeks,  exaggerating  the  protuberance  of  the 
cheek  bones,  were  connected  by  a  strongly  marked 
sunken  line  which  shot  up  to  about  half  the  height  of 
the  nose,  and  left  a  slight  ridge  which  ran  at  right 
angles  with  the  upper  part  of  the  cheek  bone.  The 
centre  of  the  nose  ht  the  base  protruded  a  rounded 
point  below  the  orifice  of  the  nostrils,,  The  deep-set 
eyes  were  overarched  by  massive  brows,  which  threw 
the  forehead  a  little  out  of  its  perpendicularity,  and 
which  alone  gave  it  the  least  receding  angle.  This 
assemblage  of  features  will  at  once  be  seen  to  have 
been  striking  and  characteristic.  They  were  almost 
constantly  animated  by  a  flow  of  spirit  which  put  the 


36 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


li 


m 


Hill 


rest  of  the  passengers  in  good  humor ;  for  the  hope 
of  youth  deceptively  painted  with  its  roseate  views  that 
future  which,  to  the  young  Dundee  emigrant,  was  to 
be  beset  with  so  many  difficulties,  bestrewed  with  thorns, 
and  watered  with  tears  of  blood. 

After  his  arrival  in  Canada,  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  for  a 
short  time  employed  in  connection  with  the  survey  of 
the  Lachine  Canal ;  but  it  could  only  have  been  a  few 
weeks,  for  in  the  course  of  the  summer  he  entered  into 
business  in  York,  as  the  present  city  of  Toronto  was  then 
called.  "My  first  occupation,"  he  has  left  it  on  record, 
"  in  York  was  mercantile.  I  had  the  profits  of  one  part 
of  the  establishment  in  this  town,  which  was  resigned 
when  I  went  into  partnership  in  trade,"*  in  Dundas. 
In  York,  Mr.  John  Lesslie  and  he  were  in  the  book  and 
drug  business ;  the  profits  of  the  books  going  to  Mr. 
Lesslie,  and  that  of  the  drugs  to  Mr.  Mackenzie.  It 
was  found,  I  believe,  that  physic  for  the  body  was  in 
greater  demand  than  garniture  for  the  mind ;  and  the 
question  arose  of  finding  another  place  at  which  to 
establish  a  second  business,  in  which  Mr.  Mackenzie 
and  Mr.  John  Lesslie  were  to  be  partners.  The  busi- 
ness in  York  was  afterwards  conducted  for  the  exclu- 
sive benefit  of  the  remaining  partner.  Kingston  was 
thought  of,  but  Mr.  Mackenzie  did  not  like  the  place, 
and  Dundas  was  selected.  Here  he  conducted  the  bu- 
siness of  the  partnership  for  fifteen  or  sixteen  months  ; 
during  which  time,  I  have  heard  him  say,  a  clear 
cash  profit  of  £100  a  month  was  made.  In  a  printed 
poster,  I  find  the  firm  styled  "  Mackenzie  and  Lesslie, 
Druggists,  and  Dealers  in  Hardware,  Cutlery,  Jewelry; 

♦  Colonial  Advocate,  January  21,  1828. 


THE  CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


37 


Toys,  Carpenter's  Tools,  Nails,  Groceries,  Confections, 
Dye-Stuffs,  Paints,  &c.,  at  the  Circulating  Library, 
Dundas."  The  partnership  was  dissolved,  by  mutual 
consent,  in  the  early  pa,rt  of  1823.  A  division  of  the 
partnership  effects  was  made ;  and,  in  papers  which 
have  been  preserved,  Mr.  Mackenzie  appears  as  a  pur- 
chaser from  the  firm  of  Mackenzie  &  Lesslie  to  the 
amount  of  £686  19s  3H.  The  goods  included  in  this 
purchase  were  as  miscellaneous  as  can  well  be  im- 
agined ;  and  they  were  destined  to  form  the  nucleus 
of  a  separate  business  to  be  carried  on  by  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie. The  invoice  is  headed,  "  Dundas,  U.  C,  24th 
February,  1823.  William  Lyon  Mackenzie  bought 
of  Mackenzie  &  Lesslie ;"  and  its  completion  bears 
date,  "  Dundas,  March  20th,  1823."  Below  this  date, 
at  the  bottom  of  the  figures,  is  a  memorandum  of 
agreement  of  purchase  and  sale  : 

"  We  agree  that  the  above  is  a  correct,  true,  and 
proper  invoice,  in  the  items  and  in  the  amount ;  the 
same  being  six  hundred  and  eighty-six  pounds  nine- 
teen shillings  and  three  pence  i  curr'y. 

"Wm.  L.  Mackenzie,      John  Lesslie." 

With  this  stock  a  separate  business  was  commenced ; 
but  it  was  not  long  continued,  for  in  the  autumn  of 
the  same  year  Mr.  Mackenzie  removed  to  Queens- 
town,  and  there  opened  a  general  store.  Before  leav- 
ing Dundas,  he  sold  to  Mr.  Lesslie  one  of  the  build- 
ings he  had  erected  at  that  place,  but  retained  a  store- 
house. At  Queenstown,  he  resided  only  a  year ;  and 
before  the  expiration  of  that  time,  he  had  abandoned 
commerce  for  politics  ;  and  as  a  journalist,  made  the 
first  step  in  the  eventful  career  which  opens  with  this 


38 


.  LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


M. 


iilll 


II!  i 


!i:^ 


period  of  his  life.  The  stock  of  miscellaneous  goods 
was  disposed  of  to  a  store-keeper  in  the  country ;  and 
thus  the  business  was  closed  without  resorting  to  the 
tedious  practice  of  selling  oif  in  detail. 

While  living  in  Dundas,  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  mar- 
ried. This  event  took  place  on  the  1st  of  July,  1822, 
at  Montreal.  Miss  Isabel  Baxter,  his  bride,  may  be 
said  to  have  been  a  native  of  the  same  town  as  him- 
self ;  for  she  was  born  at  Dundee  and  he  at  Springfield, 
a  suburb  of  the  same  place.  Though  they  both  were 
at  the  same  school  together,  when  young,  they  had 
ceased  to  be  able  to  recognize  one  another  when  they 
met  at  Quebec.  The  marriage  took  place  within  three 
weeks  from  the  first  interview:  a  circumstance  that 
accords  with  the  general  impulsive  nature  of  his  char- 
acter. Of  this  union  the  issue  was  thirteen  children : 
three  boys  and  ten  girls ;  six  of  whom  arc  now  living : 
four  daughters  and  two  sons.  Five  died  in  infancy : 
one  at  thirteen  years,  and  one  at  thirty-two. 

Up  to  this  time,  Mr.  Mackenzie  had  not  held  any 
other  office  in  Canada  than  that  of  School  Trustee ;  and 
he  confessed  that  even  that  mark  of  public  confidence 
inspired  him  with  pride.  He  and  Mr.  Thorburn  were 
elected  to  that  office,  at  the  same  time,  at  Queenstown. 
Speaking  of  this  occurrence,  he  says :  "  The  first  news- 
paper I  ever  issued  was  a  protest  against  binding 
down  our  projected  university  to  the  dogmas  of  any 
sect :  whether  of  Oxford,  Edinburgh,  Rome,  or  Mos- 
cow." Never  was  prophecy  more  literally  fulfilled 
than  that  of  his  regarding  the  effects  of  giving  a  secta- 
rian character  to  a  university  which  had  not  yet 
come  into  existence. 


i 

4 


1^ 

5; 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


39 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Mr.  Mackenzie's  Eeasons  for  going  into  Politics — Condition  of  Canada  in  1820 
— Moderation  of  the  Political  Principles  with  which  he  set  out — Most  of  the 
Reforms  he  advocated  Carried — On  some  suhjects  Puhlic  Opinion  went 
far  beyond  his  Starting  Point — State  of  the  Press  in  Upper  Canada,  in 
1826 — A  Union  of  all  the  North  American  Provinces — General  Election, 
of  which  the  Result  was  Unfavorable  to  the  Executive — A  Scene  in  Court — 
Mackenzie  on  Judge  Boulton. 

When  Mr.  Mackenzie  abandoned  trade  for  politics, 
he  was  doing  well,  and  had  done  well  ever  since  he 
commenced  business.  A  perseverance  in  the  career 
on  which  he  had  entered  four  years  before  would 
have  led  to  wealth.  In  the  first  number  of  The  Colo- 
nial Advocate  J  published  at  Queenstown,  on  the  18th 
May,  1824,  he  describes  himself  as  being  "as  independ- 
ent as  editors  can  well  be ;"  and  this  evidently  had 
reference  to  his  pecuniary  position,  for  he  adds,  "  We 
are  not  in  want,  neither  are  we  rich."  The  step  which 
he  had  now  taken  was  one  of  the  most  important  in  his 
whole  career,  since  it  involved  every  thing  that  fal- 
lowed. Why  did  he  take  it?  Fortunately  the  an- 
swer can  be  given  in  his  own  words.  In  a  letter  writ- 
ten to  2,  friend  while  he  was  in  the  United  States,  he 
says : — 

*'  When  you  and  your  father  knew  me  first,  in 
1820,  I  was  a  young  man  connected  with  trade  in 


40 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


i  i: 


\m 


York  and  Dundas.  The  prudent,  judicious,  and  very 
profitable  manner  in  which  I  conducted,  alone,  the 
partnership  concerns  of  a  large  trading  establishment, 
at  the  head  of  Lake  Ontario,  surely  afforded  satisfac- 
tory evidence  that  I  had  no  occasion  to  leave  my  pri- 
vate pursuits  for  the  stormy  sea  of  politics,  with  a 
view  to  the  improvement  of  my  pecuniary  prospects. 
When  I  did  so,  and  assumed,  as  the  westernmost 
journalist  in  the  British  dominions  on  the  continent 
of  America,  the  office  of  a  public  censor,  I  had  no 
personal  enemies,  but  was  on  friendly  terms  with 
many  of  the  men  whom  since  then  I  have  steadily 
opposed.  I  never  interfered  in  the  public  concerns 
of  th,e  colony,  in  the  most  remote  degree,  until  the 
day  in  which  I  issued  twelve  hundred  coj)ies  of  a 
newspaper,  without  having  asked  or  received  a  single 
subscriber.  In  that  number  I  stated  my  sentiments, 
and  the  objects  I  had  in  view  fully  and  frankly.  I 
had  long  seen  the  country  in  the  hands  of  a  few 
shrewd,  crafty,  covetous  men,  under  Avhose  manage- 
ment one  of  the  most  lovely  and  desirable  sections  of 
America  remained  a  comparative  desert.  The  most 
obvious  public  improvements  were  stayed;  dissension 
was  created  among  classes ;  citizens  were  banished  and 
imprisoned  in  defiance  of  all  law ;  the  people  had  been 
long  forbidden,  under  severe  pains  and  penalties,  from 
meeting  anywhere  to  petition  for  justice ;  large  estates 
were  wrested  from  their  owners  in  utter  contempt  of 
even  the  forms  of  the  courts ;  the  Church  of  England, 
the  adherents  of  which  were  few,  monopolized  as 
much  of  the  lands  of  the  colony  as  all  the  religious 
houses  and  dignitaries  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 


THE   CANADIAN    EEBELLION. 


41 


had  hnd  the  control  of  in  Scotland  at  the  era  of  the 
Rol'ormation  ;  other  sects  were  treated  with  contempt 
and  scarcely  tolerated  ;  a  sordid  band  of  land-jobbers 
grasped  the  soil  as  their  patrimony,  and  with  a  few 
leading  officials,  who  divided  the  public  revenue 
among  themselves,  formed  '  the  family  compact,'  and 
were  the  avowed  enemies  of  common  schools,  of  civil 
and  religious  liberty,  of  all  legislative  or  other  checks 
to  their  own  will.  Other  men  had  opposed,  and  been 
converted  by  them.  At  nine-and-twenty  I  might 
have  united  with  them,  but  chose  rather  to  join  the 
oppressed,  nor  have  I  ever  regretted  that  choice,  or 
wavered  from  the  object  of  my  early  pursuit.  So  far 
as  I  or  any  other  professed  reformer  Avas  concerned  in 
inviting  citizens  of  this  Union  to  interfere  in  Cana- 
dian aifairs,  there  was  culpable  error.  So  far  as  any 
of  us,  at  any  time,  may  have  supposed  that  the  cause 
of  freedom  would  be  advanced  by  adding  the  Canadas 
to  this  Confederation,  we  w^re  under  the  merest  de- 
lusion." 

This  picture  of  Upper  Canada,  in  1820,  may  be 
highly  colored ;  but  in  the  general  outlines,  repulsive 
as  they  are,  there  is  too  much  truth.  The  limner 
lived  to  see  a  change  of  system  in  Canada ;  and  after 
he  had  had  a  more  than  theoretical  experience  of  De- 
mocracy in  the  United  States — having  resided  there 
for  several  years — he  warns  Canadians  not  to  be  mis- 
led by  the  delusion  that  the  cause  of  liberty  would  be 
advanced  by  uniting  these  Provinces  to  the  American 
Republic.  When  we  come  to  see  at  what  price  he 
purchased  the  experience,  which  entitled  him  to  ex- 
press such  an  opinion,  the  value  of  this  admonition 


42 


LIFE    OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


fijl 


f|J    :' 


I      I 


.         I 


cannot  fail  to  be  enhanced  in  the  estimation  of  all  un- 
prejudiced judges. 

In  some  respects,  the  condition  of  the  Province,  in 
1820,  was  worse  than  Mr.  Mackenzie  described  it. 
He  dealt  only  with  its  political  condition ;  but  the  ab- 
sence of  demand  for  employment  made  wretched  those 
who  depended  solely  upon  their  labor  for  subsistence. 
When  Lord  A.  Hamilton  suggested,  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  April  28th,  1820,  that  an  emigration  to  the 
North  American  colonies  would  be  the  most  effectual 
means  of  relieving  distress  at  home,  the  Chancellor  of 
the  Exchequer  replied,  that  the  emigrants  who  had  re- 
cently gone  there,  "  so  far  from  finding  increased  means 
of  subsistence,  had  experienced  a  want  of  employment 
fully  equal  to  that  which  existed  in  the  most  distressed 
manufacturing  districts  of  this  country.  The  North 
American  Provinces  of  Great  Britain  had  been  so 
overloaded  with  emigrants,  that  the  government  of 
Canada  had  made  the  strongest  remonstrances  to  the 
government  of  this  country  on  the  subject." 

Public  meetings,  the  actors  in  which  had  been  de- 
puted to  represent  any  portion  of  the  elections,  were 
illegal ;  and  every  thing  in  the  shape  of  a  convention 
was  held  to  be  seditious.  Any  new  comer,  who  had 
not  been  six  months  in  the  Province,  was  liable  to  be 
banished,  not  for  any  thing  he  had  done,  but  upon  a 
mere  suspicion  that  ho  was  "about  to  endeavor  to 
alienate  the  minds  of  his  Majesty's  subjects  of  this 
Province  from  his  person  or  government."  Under  the 
sedition  act  of  1804,  which  armed  the  government  with 
this  authority,  Mr.  Robert  Grourlay,  a  Scotchman  of 
respectable  antecedents  and  shattered  nerves,  was  sen- 


i 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


43 


tenced  to  banishment,  and  afterwards  imprisoned  for  re- 
fusing to  obey  the  order.  The  shock  was  too  much  for 
his  acute  organization ;  and  the  imprisonment  before 
trial — the  fourth  he  had  to  undergo — deprived  him  of 
his  reason.  On  the  verdict  being  pronounced — guilty 
of  refusing  to  leave  the  country — he  asked  one  of  the 
jurymen  whether  it  was  for  sedition  that  he  had  been 
tried.  The  object  of  the  convention,  which  -was  held  at 
York  in  1818,  was  to  arrange  for  sending  commissioners 
to  England,  to  bring  before  the  Imperial  authorities  the 
condition  of  the  Province,  with  a  view  to  its  ameliora- 
tion. Col.  Beardsleyof  Hamilton,  the  chairman,  was 
tried  by  court  martial,  and  deprived  of  his  commission. 
Among  the  delegates,  there  were  many  Avho  had  shown 
their  attachment  to  their  sovereign  during  the  war  of 
1812.  The  lands  to  which  they  were  entitled,  as 
bounty,  were  withheld  from  them,  on  account  of  their 
presence  at  that  assemblage.  A  very  difficult  and 
irritating  question  arose,  of  the  state  of  the  naturaliza- 
tion laws,  as  they  affected  persons  of  British  birth, 
who  had  remained  in  the  United  States  till  after  1783, 
and  then  came  to  settle  in  the  Province.  Of  the  Post- 
office  revenue,  no  account  was  given  ;  and  in  return  for 
high  rates  of  postage  the  service  was  very  indifferent- 
ly performed. 

With  what  opinions  did  the  future  leader  of  an  in- 
surrection, which  it  cost  so  many  millions  of  dollars 
to  quell,  set  out?  Was  he  a  fierce  Democrat,  who  had 
resolved  with  malice  prepense  to  do  all  in  his  power 
to  overthrow  those  monarchical  institutions  which  had 
suffered  gross  abuse  at  the  hands  of  those  to  whom 
their  working  had  been  confided?     No  prospectus 


44 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


having  gone  forth  as  an  avant  courrier  of  The  Colonial 
Advocate,   tho   first   number   of    the  journal,   which 
was   in   8vo.  form,   was   devoted   chiefly  to   an   ex- 
position of  the  principles  of  the  editor.     The  range 
of  topics  embraced  was  wide,  and  the  tone  of  discus- 
sion, free  from  the  bitterness  that  marked  his  later 
writings,   was  frank.    A  Calvinist  in  religion,  pro- 
claiming his  belief  in  the  Westminster  Confession  of 
Faith,  and  a  Liberal  in  politics,  yet  was  Mr.  Macken- 
zie, at  that  time,  no  advocate  of  the  voluntary  prin- 
ciple.    On  the  contrary,  he  lauded  the  British  govern- 
ment for  making  a  landed  endowment  of  tho  Pro- 
testant Clergy,  in  the  Provinces,  and  was  shocked  at 
the  report  that,  in  1812,  voluntaryism  had  robbed 
three  millions  of  people  of  all  means  of  religious  or- 
dinances.     "  In  no  part  of  the  Constitution  oi  the 
Canadas,"  he  said,  "  is  the  wisdom  of  the  British  Legis- 
lature more  apparent  than  in  its  setting  apart  a  por- 
tion of  the  country,  while  yet  it  remained  a  wilderness, 
for  the  support  of  religion."     Mr.  Mackenzie  credited 
Lord  Melville,  when  Mr.  Dundas,  with  having  been 
the  first  adviser  of  this  measure ;  but  this  is  a  mistake, 
for  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  had  previously  in- 
terested himself  in  the  matter,  and  Col.  Simcoe  had 
pronounced  in   favor  of  a  church  establishment,  in 
Canada,  as   a  means  of  mpholding  a  distinction   of 
ranks,  and  lessening  the  weight  of  democratic  influ- 
ence.    Mr.  Mackenzie  compared  the  setting  apart  of 
one  seventh  of  the  public  lands  for  religious  purposes 
to  a  like  dedication  in  the  time  of  the  Christians.    But 
he  objected  that  the  revenues  were  monopolized  by  one 
church,  to  which  only  a  fraction  of  the  population 


THE    CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


45 


belongocl.  The  envy  of  the  non-recipient  denomina- 
tions made  the  favored  church  of  England  unpopular. 
Though  this  distribution  of  the  revenues  was  mani- 
festly in  accordance  with  the  law  creating  the  Re- 
serves, the  alteration  of  that  law,  if  it  should  not 
meet  the  wishes  of  the  people,  had  been  contemplated 
and  provided  for  by  its  framers.  By  this  argument, 
Mr.  Mackenzie  was  easily  conducted  to  the  conclu- 
sion, "that  Catholic  and  Protestant,  Episcopalian  and 
Presbyterian,  Methodist  and  Baptist,  Quaker  and 
Tunker,  deserve  to  share  alike  in  the  income  of 
these  lands ;"  and  he  expressed  a  hope  that  a  law 
would  be  enacted,  "  by  which  the  ministers  of  every 
body  of  professing  Christians,  being  British  subjects, 
shall  receive  equal  benefits  from  these  Clergy  Re- 
serves." But  this  was  not  to  be ;  for  agitation,  or  the 
question,  was  to  be  directed  to  the  abrogation,  not  the 
equal  division,  of  these  reservations. 

On  this  question,  the  conservative  character  of  Mr. 
Mackenzie's  opinions  was  found  to  be  out  of  harmony 
with  the  general  sentiment,  as  it  gradually  unfolded 
itself,  and  his  own  opinions  changed.  He  could  not 
have  retained  these  views,  and  maintained  his  popu- 
larity. Besides,  as  the  subject  was  more  discussed,  he 
saw  reason  to  change  them.  On  another  question — 
that  of  establishing  a  Provincial  University — he  con- 
tended for  a  principle,  the  adoption  of  which  would 
have  caused  a  great  deal  of  subsequent  difficulty. 
Cordially  seconding  the  proposal  of  Dr.  Strachan,  to 
establish  such  an  institution,  he  predicted  that  it 
would  attract  but  few  students,  and  not  answer  the 
purpose  for  which  it  was  required,  "  if  tied  down  by 


46 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


■II* 


I 


I 


tests  and  oaths  to  support  particular  dogmas."  This 
warning  was  unheeded,  and  for  the  reasons  he  had 
given,  the  university  had  to  be  turned  upside  down 
a  quarter  of  a  century  afterwards,  having  in  the 
meantime  produced  a  minimum  quantity  of  good  fruit. 

The  Executive  Government,  the  Legislative  Coun- 
cil, the  Bench,  the  Bar,  the  Church,  all  came  in  for  a 
a  share  of  attention.  Governor  Maitland  was  disad- 
vantageously  compared  to  De  Witt  Clinton,  of  the 
State  of  'New  York.  The  members  of  the  Executive, 
apparently  for  no  sound  reason,  were  described  as 
"  foreigners."  The  Legislative  Council,  a  majority  of 
whose  members  held  offices  under  the  crown,  and 
were  even  pluralists  in  a  small  way,  were  represented 
as  being  "  always  selected  from  the  tools  of  servile 
power."  The  dependent  position  of  the  Judges,  being 
removable  at  the  pleasure  of  the  Executive,  was  la- 
mented. As  for  the  Church,  which  claimed  to  be  the  es- 
tablished religion  of  the  country,  its  ministers  were  de- 
clared to  be  not  of  that  class  who  endure  persecution  for 
conscience'  sake.  The  Bar  was  admitted  to  have  four 
righteous  members,  and  might,  therefore,  be  consid- 
ered to  be  in  a  hopeful  condition.  But  the  standard 
to  which  its  members  were  expected  to  attain  was  no 
common  one.  Lawyers  were  expected  at  all  times  to 
be  ready,  without  fee  or  other  reward  than  the  ap- 
proval of  a  good  conscience,  to  plead  the  cause  of  the 
unfortunate  poor. 

In  so  many  words,  the  young  journalist  volunteered 
a  disclaimer,  by  way  of  anticipation,  of  being  a  Radi- 
cal Reformer.  He  had  joined  no  Spafield  mobs.  He 
had  never  benefited  by  the  harangues  of  Hunt,  Cob- 


THE  CANADIAN  REBKLLION. 


47 


bctt,  or  Watson,  lie  was  not  even  chargeable  with 
being  a  follower  of  Gourlay,  who  had  already  ren- 
dered himself  odious  to  the  ruling  faction.  With 
none  of  these  sins  was  Mr.  Mackenzie  chargeable. 
And  though  he  was  a  warm  reformer,  ho  "  never 
wished  to  see  British  America  an  appendage  of  the 
American  Union."  American  liberty  was  good,  but 
British  liberty  was  betto.;.  From  the  Americans  we 
might  learn  something  of  the  art  of  agriculture ;  but 
of  government  nothing.  Yet  our  own  system  of  cross- 
purposes  required  reformation.  The  proposed  Union 
Bill  of  1818  had  been  rightly  rejected,  and  the  only 
desirable  union  was  one  of  all  the  British  American 
colonies.  The  first  existing  law  against  which  Mr. 
Mackenzie  directed  his  pen,  after  that  which  gave  the 
Church  of  England  the  entire  proceeds  of  the  Clergy 
Reserves,  was  that  upholding  the  right  of  primogen- 
iture. 

Such  are  the  views  promulgated  by  the  young  jour- 
nalist at  the  outset  of  his  career.  Yet,  moderate  and 
even  conservative  as  they  were,  on  many  points,  an 
organ  of  the  official  party  suggested  that  he  should  be 
banished  the  Province,  and  the  whole  edition — which 
it  would  not  have  been  easy  to  collect  after  it  had  once 
been  distributed  through  the  country — seized.  We 
look  upon  them  now  as  being  for  the  most  part  mode- 
rate and  rational;  and  where  the  majority  of  the 
present  generation  of  Canadians  will  diifer  from  him 
is  that,  on  the  Clergy  Reserves  question,  he  did  not 
hold  the  voluntary  view.  At  that  time,  he  would 
have  denounced  secularization  as  a  monstrous  piece 
of  sacrilege.    The  views  which  he  expressed  in  refer- 


48 


LIFE   OF    MACKKNZIK,    AND 


ence  to  a  Provincial  Univoraity,  before  it  had  boon 
brouji^ht  into  existence,  afterwards  came  in  the  shape 
of  a  reform,  tlio  fruit  of  a  long  and  bitter  controversy. 
Members  of  the  Legislature  no  longer  hold  subordi- 
nate offices,  much  less  are  they  pluraliats.  The  judges 
hold  their  offices  for  life,  and  are  not  removable  at  the 
pleasure  of  the  Executive.  The  Executive  Council  can 
only  be  composed  of  such  men  as  can  obtain  the  favor 
of  a  legislative  majority.  The  Church  of  England, 
having  no  exclusive  privileges,  and  making  no  pre- 
tensions to  dominancy,  no  longer  excite  jealousy,  envy, 
or  hatred.  All  the  Provinces  of  British  America 
have  not  yet  been  united  under  one  government,  it  is 
true;  bi'>  the  question  of  uniting  them  never  before 
occupied  the  same  degree  of  attention.  The  right 
of  primogeniture  has  boon  abolished,  and  intestate 
estates  are  equally  distributtd  among  the  children. 
The  mode  of  administering  the  government  has  been 
so  revolutionized  as  to  be  equivalent  to  a  complete 
change  of  sysiera.  The  game  of  cross-purposes,  of 
which  Mr.  Mackenzie  complained,  is  no  longer  played 
between  the  two  branches  of  the  Legislature,  or  be- 
tween the  popular  branch  and  the  Executive.  In 
m&king  the  Legislative  Council  elective — saving  the 
rights  of  life-members  already  appointed — ^we  have 
gone  a  step  beyond  what  Mr.  Mackenzie  dreamed  of 
in  1824,  and  which  he  would  probably,  at  that  time, 
have  opposed  as  a  radical  departure  from  the  British 
system  of  government.       •      i       ;  ,  /  m 

Something  new  under  the  sun  had  appeared  in  tbe 
newspaper  world  of  Upper  Canada.  To  official  ga- 
zettes containing  a  little  news,  and  semi-official  sheets, 


THE  CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


49 


which  had  an  intense  admiration  of  the  ruling  oli- 
garchy, little  York  had  previously  been  accustomed. 
To  newspaper  criticism  the  Executive  had  not  been 
inured ;  and  it  was  determined  that  the  audacity  of 
the  now  journal  should  be  rebuked.  In  spite  of  all 
his  protestations,  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  called  upon  to 
defend  himself  against  an  imputation  of  disloyalty ; 
and,  judging  from  his  reply,  he  appears  to  have  felt 
this  as  one  of  the  most  galling  and  at  the  same  time 
one  of  the  most  untrue  accusations  that  could  have 
been  made  against  him.  A  Mackenzie  disloyal !  In 
the  annals  of  the  whole  clan  no  record  of  so  unnatural 
a  monster  could  be  found.  On  the  10th  of  June,  Mr. 
Mackenzie  replied  at  great  length.  A  part  of  this 
reply  has  already  been  given,  in  the  .^  ay  of  family 
history ;  and  the  more  material  parts  of  the  remainder 
must  not  be  omitted:       %  .-■.  ■  |!.m    i   •  'Hh  m   ;•  ?>  o\v^ 

"  Had  Mr.  Fothergill  not  been  pleased  to  accuse  me 
in  plain  terms  of  democracy,  disloyalty,  and  foul  play, 
I  should  not  have  devoted  so  much  of  this  number  to 
party  argument.  It  is  necessary  for  me,  however, 
when  my  good  name  is  so  unexpectedly  and  rudely 
assailed,  in  the  first  place,  to  deny,  in  plain  and  posi- 
tive terms,  such  a  charge ;  it  will  then  accord  with  my 
duty,  as  well  as  with  my  inclination,  to  inquire  how 
far  he  or  any  man  is  entitled,  from  any  observations 
of  mine  to  advance  such  statements  as  appear  in  the 
official  papers  of  the  27th  ult.  and  3d  instant. 

"  I  consider  it  the  bounden  duty  of  every  man  who 
conducts  a  public  newspaper,  to  endeavor  to  regulate 
his  own  conduct  in  private  life,  so  as  that  the  obser- 
vations he  may  publicly  make  on  the  words  and  ac- 


50 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,    AND 


I 


.1  K  ' 


'I  !!'! 


I  ii> 


i      !' 


tions  of  others,  may  not  lose  their  weight  and  influ- 
ence on  being  contrasted  with  his  own  behavior, 
whether  as  the  head  of  a  family  or  as  an  individual 
member  of  society.  Were  I  a  native  of  the  village 
in  which  1  now  write,  or  of  the  district  in  which  it  is 
situated,  the  whole  of  my  past  life  could  be  fairly  re- 
ferred to,  as  a  refutation,  or  as  a  corroboration  of  what 
he  has  urged  against  me ;  but  as  that  is  not  the 
case,  this  being  only  the  fifth  year  of  my  residence  in 
Canada,  I  must  refer  to  that  residence,  and  to  such 
other  circumstances  as  I  may  consider  best  calculated 
to  do  away  the  injurious  impression  that  will  be  raised 
in  the  minds  of  those  that  do  not  know  me,  and  who 
may  therefore  be  unjustly  biassed  by  his  erroneous 
statements.  I  will,  in  the  first  instance,  refer  to  every 
page  of  the  four  numbers  of  The  Advocate,  now  be- 
fore the  public ;  I  may  ask  every  impartial  reader, 
nay,  I  may  even  ask  Mr.  Robinson*  himself,  ''clui 
is,  if  he  has  any  judgment  in  such  matters,)  whether 
they  do  not,  in  every  line,  speak  the  language  of  a  free 
and  independent  British  subject?  I  may  ask  whether 
I  have  not  endeavored,  by  every  just  means,  to  dis- 
courage the  unprofitable,  unsocial  system  of  the  local 
governments,  so  detrimental  to  British  and  Colonial 
interests,  and  which  has  been  productive  of  so  much 
misery  to  these  Colonies  ?  Whether  I  have  not  en- 
deavored to  inculcate  in  all  my  readers,  that  godlike 
maxim  of  the  illustrious  British  patriot,  Charles  James 
Fox,  that  'that  government  alone  is  strong  that  has 
the  hearts  of  the  people.'  It  is  true,  my  loyalty  has  not 
descended  so  low  as  to  degenerate  into  a  base,  fawning, 

*  Then  Attorney  General,  now  Chief  Justice  of  the  Court  of  Queen's  Bench. 


i''ii 


THE  CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


51 


cringing  servility.  I  may  honor  my  sovereign  surely, 
and  remember  the  ruler  of  my  people  with  the  respect 
that  is  due  unto  his  name  and  rank,  without  allowing 
my  deportment  to  be  equally  respectful  and  humble  to 
His  Majesty's  butcher  or  his  baker,  his  barber  or  his 
tailor  1  If  I  were  reduced  to  poverty  and  distress,  and 
were  unable  to  work  for  my  bread,  I  would  cheerfully 
submit  without  repining  at  the  Divine  Providence,  and 
ask  an  alms  from  my  fellow-creatures,  as  a  temporary 
sustenance  to  this  tabernacle  of  clay,  until  in  due  time 
I  were  called  home ;  but  I  feel  that  not  to  gain  the 
wealth  of  the  Indies,  could  I  now  cringe  to  the  fun- 
guses that  I  have  beheld  in  this  country,  and  who  are 
more  numerous  and  more  pestilential  in  the  town  of 
York,  than  the  marshes  and  quagmires  with  which  it 
is  environed.  -  ^ 

"  It  may  be  proper  that  I  should  for  this  once  add 
a  few  other  reasons,  why  disloyalty  can  never  enter 
my  breast ;  even  the  name  I  bear  has  in  all  ages  proved 
talismanic,  an  insurmountable  barrier.  There  are 
many  persons  in  this  very  colony  who  have  known  me 
from  infancy,  so  that  what  I  may  say  can  there  or 
here  easily  be  proved  or  disproved  if  it  should  ever 
become  of  consequence  enough  to  deserve  investiga- 
tion. If  Mr.  Fothergill  can  find  that  any  one  who 
bears  the  name  which  from  both  parents  I  inherit,  if 
he  can  find  only  one  Mackenzie,  and  they  are  a  very 
extensive  clan,  whether  a  relation  of  mine  or  other- 
wise, whether  of  patrician,  or  (as  he  terms  me)  of 
plebeian  birth,  who  has  ever  deserted  or  proved  dis- 
loyal to  his  Sovereign  in  the  hour  of  danger,  even  I 
will  allow  that  he  had  the  shadow  of  a  reason  for  his 


m 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


iijili 


lllil! 


I 


false  and  slanderous  imputations ;  but  if  in  this  re- 
search he  fails,  I  hope,  that  for  the  sake  of  truth  and 
justice,  for  the  honor  of  the  Canadian  press,  for  the  sake 
of  the  respectability  of  that  official  journal  of  which  he 
has  the  management,  if  not  for  mine  who  never 
wronged  him,  that  he  will  instantly  retract  a  charge, 
which,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  is  as  foolish  and  ground- 
less, as  the  observations  he  has  connected  with  it  are 
vain  and  futile.  Only  think  of  the  consequences  which 
might  result  from  owing  allegiance  to  a  foreign  gov- 
ernment; think  that  in  a  few  short  weeks,  or  it  may  be 
years,  one  might  be  called  on,  upon  the  sanctity  of  an 
oath,  to  wage  war  against  all  that  from  childhood  up- 
wards he  had  held  most  dear :  to  go  forth  in  battle 
array  against  the  heritage  of  his  ancestors,  his  kin- 
dred, his  friends,  and  his  acquaintances ;  to  become  in- 
strumental in  the  subjugation  by  fire  and  sword  to 
foreigners,  of  the  fields,  the  cities,  the  mausoleums  of 
his  forefathers — nye  perhaps  in  the  heat  of  battle  it 
might  be  his  lot  to  plunge  the  deadly  blade  into  the 
breast  of  a  father,  or  a  brother,  or  an  only  child. 
Surely  this  picture  is  not  overcharged.  In  our  days 
it  stands  on  record  as  having  been  verified." 

There  is  no  reason,  not  even  in  the  subsequent  his- 
tory of  Mr.  Mackenzie,  to  doubt  the  sincerity  with 
which  those  protestations  were  made.  Years  after  he 
went  so  far,  in  a  letter  to  Lord  Dalhousie,  Governor-in- 
Chief,  as  to  suggest  the  possible  return  to  their  al- 
legiance to  England  of  the  United  States,  if  it  were 
once  understood  that  the  full  rights  of  British  sub- 
jects were  to  be  conferred  upon  the  colonies.  And  he 
constantly  raised  a  warning  voice  to  show  the  danger 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


53 


of  a  persistent  refusal  to  give  to  colonists  the  full  ien- 
joyment  of  those  rights.  His  nature  had  evidently 
to  undergo  a  great  change  before  he  could  become  a 
leader  of  insurrection.  Mr.  Fothergill*  does  not  ap- 
pear to  have  shown  any  disposition  to  prolong  the 
personal  contest  he  had  provoked ;  and  he  afterwards 
became  an  advocate  in  the  Legislature  of  the  man  he 
had  at  first  made  a  personal  antagonist.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1826,  we  find  him  moving — any  member  then 
had  the  initiation  of  the  money  votes — in  the  Legis- 
lative Assembly,  that  a  small  sum  be  paid  to  Mr. 
Mackenzie  for  the  reports  of  the  debates  he  had  pub- 
lished. As  affording  a  picture  of  the  state  of  the 
press  of  Up;>t  ^inada,  at  that  time,  and  as  throwing 
light  on  this  ^ .  •  )d  of  the  life  of  the  subject  of  this 
biography,  an  extra'^t  from  the  speech  is  worth  reading: 
"Mr.  Fothergill  intended  to  move  for  a  sum  to  be 
paid  to  the  editor  of  The  Advocate.  That  paper  had 
during  the  session  endeavored  to  give  an  accurate 
account  of  their  proceedings.  Many  of  their  resolu- 
tions, bills,  reports  of  committees,  and  petitions  of  a 
public  nature,  had  been  first  printed  in  The  Advocate^ 
for  the  advantage  of  their  constituents,  as  also  the 
speeches  pro  and. con  on  several  important  questions; 
Mr.  Mackenzie  had  made  great  exertions — established 
the  only  newspaper  on  an  imperial  sheet,  and  that  too 
without  any  increase  in  the  price  of  his  journal,  ever 
printed  or  published  within  the  colony.  He  had  last 
fall,  in  addition  to  his  former  establishment,  purchased, 

*  Mr.  Fotliprgill  was  an  English  gentlemnn,  born  in  Yorkshire,  and  well 
educutod.  He  brought  considornble  moans  with  him  to  Canada ;  but  they 
were  all  dissipated  many  years  before  his  death. 


I' 


lll.ll( 


'I    I: 


54 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


at  great  expense,  a  new  patent  cast  iron  press — the 
first  ever  seen  here,  also  new  founts  of  types.  He  had 
been  led  to  believe  that  this  additional  supply  of  ma- 
terials would  be  free  by  virtue  of  the  bill  of  last  ses- 
sion passed  both  houses,  but  was  disappointed;  and 
instead  of  relief,  found  that  new  and  heavy  duties  were 
laid  on  another  material  article  in  his  trade — paper. 
His  extended  circulation  subjects  him  to  a  more  than 
ordinary  share  of  that  tax  felt  by  all  printers  in  some 
degree,  namely,  the  payment  of  newspaper  postages 
quarterly  in  advance,  rigidly  enforced  from  those  who 
send  the  papers  away,  and  irrecoverable  whether  they 
arrive  at  their  destination  or  not.  And  if  they  do  ar- 
rive there,  he  ( Mr.  F.)  could  tell,  for  he  had  had 
experience  as  a  printer,  that  in  proportion  as  a  paper 
became  popular,  and  therefore  more  extensively 
ordered  for  the  country,  in  like  proportion  did  the 
l^roprietor  become  embarrassed.  The  readers  were 
scattered  over  a  vast  country,  thinly  populated,  and 
the  returns  were  very  long  in  coming  back — often 
never;  this  should  induce  the  house  to  pay  a  better 
price  for  the  papers  they  saw  fit  to  receive  from  prin- 
ters; and  no  one  in  the  colony  sufi'ered  more  from 
extensive  credits  than  Mr.  Mackenzie,  whose  impres- 
sion of  six  or  seven  hundred  went  chiefly  to  the  coun- 
try by  various  (  nveyances.  He  (Mr.  F.)  was  credibly 
informed  that,  in  order  to  induce  inquiry  in  England  as 
well  as  here,  The  Advocate  had  been  sent  free  to  persons 
in  Canada  since  its  commencement,  as  many  as  nine  or 
ten  thousand  copies,  and  that  since  the  session  opened, 
eighty  or  ninety  copies  had  been  weekly  forwarded  free, 
to  British  members  of  parliament,  by  the  mail.    This 


THE   CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


55 


would  help  to  draw  attention  in  the  proper  quarter  to 
our  country.  It  was  plain  that  newspapers  which 
assumed  anything  like  independence  in  their  prin- 
ciples or  feelings  were,  in  Upper  Canada,  totally  ex- 
cluded from  benefiting  by  any  advertising  over  which 
the  government  had  control.  He  thought  the  news- 
papers furnished,  and  bills,  resolutions,  &c.,  reported 
by  the  editor  of  The  Advocate,  were  fully  as  useful  to 
the  country,  and  as  deserving  of  payment  from  the 
funds  of  the  people,  as  were  the  proclamations  for 
which  the  Kingston  Chronicle  received  £45  last  year 
from  the  casual  revenues  of  the  crown." 

The  motion  for  granting  Mr.  Mackenzie  £37  16s. 
was  carried;  but  the  Lieutenant  Governor  struck  the 
item  out  of  the  contingencies,  and  it  was  not  paid. 
Mr.  Fothergill,  having  had  experience  of  newspaper 
publishing,  was  no  indifferent  judge  of  the  difficulties 
he  described.  The  payment  in  advance,  by  the  pub- 
lishers, of  postage  on  all  the  papers  they  sent  out  in  a 
year  for  every  weekly  paper,  must  have  been  next  to 
a  prohibition  of  newspapers  altogether ;  and  we  may 
be  sure  that  they  were  regarded  with  no  friendly  eye 
by  the  government.  While  postage  was  exacted  on 
Canadian  newspapers  in  advance  of  thei  transmission, 
United  States  papers  were  allowed  to  come  into  the 
Province  without  being  prepaid ;  an  anomaly  charac- 
terized by  Mr.  Mackenzie  as  a  premium  upon  demo- 
cratic principles,  and  a  not  ineffectual  method  of  revo- 
lutionizing opinion  in  the  Canadas. 

A  union  of  all  the  British- American  colonies  had 
few  earlier  advocates  than   Mr.   Mackenzie.     In  a 


I 


\i 


•m 


'!i|'  I  :ij:l  l| 


W  i  ^ 


m 

i 

■  ■  ■  r,!( 
f                  i 

I 

J 

]  i  '1, 
p!ilii;lill : 

56 


LIFE   Oj?    MACKENZIE,   AND 


letter  to  Mr.  Canning,  dated  June  10, 1824,  he  touches 
on  this  question.      .  •  ;  ;.. 

QiTEKNSTOWN,  U.  0.,  June  10,  1824. 

*  *  *  A  union  of  all  the  colonies,  with  a  government 
suitably  poised  and  modelled,  so  as  to  have  under  its 
eye  the  resources  of  our  whole  territory,  and  having 
the  means  in  its  power  to  administer  impartial  justice 
in  all  its  bounds,  to  no  one  part  at  the  expense  of 
another,  would  require  few  boons  from  Britain,  and 
would  advance  her  interests  much  more  in  a  few  years, 
than  the  bare  right  of  possession  of  a  barren,  unculti- 
vated wilderness  of  lake  and  forest,  with  some  three 
or  four  inhabitants  to  the  square  mile,  can  do  in  centu- 
ries. A  colonial  marine  can  only  be  created  by  a 
foreign  trade,  aided  by  free  and  beneficial  institutions; 
these  indeed  would  create  it,  as  if  by  the  wand  of  an 
enchanter.  If  that  marine  is  not  brought  into  being ; 
if  that  trr'^e,  foreign  and  domestic,  continues  much 
longer  shackled  by  supreme  neglect,  and  by  seven 
inferior  sets  of  legislative  bodies,  reigning  like  so  many 
petty  kings  during  the  Saxon  heptarchy,  England 
may  yet  have  Ci.use  to  rue  the  day,  when  she  neglected 
to  raise  that  only  barrier,  or  counterpoise  to  republican 
power,  which  could  in  the  end  have  best  guarded  and 
maintained  her  interests.  ***** 
British  members  of  parliament  and  political  writers, 
who  talk  of  giving  the  Colonies  complete  independence 
now,  either  know  not  that  our  population  and  re- 
sources would  prove  very  insufficir^  ^  to  preserve  our 
freedom,  were  it  menaced,  or  else  '^ey  desire  to  see 
the  sway  of  England's  most  formi  lable  rival  extended 


THE   CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


m 


over  the  whole  of  the  vast  regions  of  the  North  Ameri- 
can continent.     I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  Sir, 
Your  obedient,  humble  servant, 

W.  L.  Mackenzie. 

To  THK  Right  Hon.  Gkorob  OANNiKa. 

Nor  was  this  a  mere  casual  expression  of  opinion. 
On  the  14th  December,  1826,  we  find  in  his  jc  ••  ..1 
the  following  testimony  to  his  continued  advocacy  of 
this  measure,  under  the  head  of  "  A  Confederation  of 
the  British  North  American  Colonies :" 

"  Right  glad  should  we  be,  indeed,  if  the  confiden- 
tial information  received  by  The  Albion  should  prove 
correct.  We  have  written  much  and , often,  advocat- 
ing an  effective  united  government  for  the  colonies,  in 
the  bonds  of  amity  and  relationship  with  England, 
we  have  sent  hundreds  of  copies  of  our  journal  to 
Europe  to  distinguished  persons,  with  that  project 
specially  marked  and  noted,  but  were  always  afraid 
that  the  idea  would  be  treated  as  '  an  idle  chimera,' 
even  by  the  wisest  and  ablest  of  British  statesmen. 
It  would,  however,  be  the  best  and  safest  policy ;  for 
England  can  continue  to  hold  Cabotia*  only  by  the 
ties  of  friendship,  amity,  and  mutual  advantages — ties 
which,  with  the  divine  blessing,  would  be  greatly 
strengthened,  were  the  talent,  the  resources,  the  en- 
terprise of  all  the  colonies  fully  brought  into  action 
in  a  liberal,  enlightened,  and  united  general  govern- 
ment." 

*  a  word  derived  from  the  discoverer  Cabot,  and  one  which  has  been  regarded 
as  the  best  designation  for  the  whole  of  British  North  America.  While  Nova 
Scotia,  or  Now  Brunswick,  would  not  like  to  sink  her  individuality  as  part  of 
Canada,  she  would  not  object  to  be  part  of  Cabotia.  Canadians,  however, 
would  object  to  change  the  name  of  their  country. 
8 


58 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


The  mode  in  which  Mr.  Macken/.io  proposed  to 
bring  about  this  change  was  tlis  :  •  i 

"  Let  an  Act  be  passed  in  the  British  Parliament 
calling  a  convention  of  all  the  colonies,  and  let  a 
British  noblemart  or  gentleman  of  competent  know- 
ledge preside,  as  representing  His  Majesty,  at  that 
convention ;  let  representatives  from  each  section  of 
British  America,  chosen  by  the  people  and  in  propor- 
tion to  the  population,  compose  that  convention ;  Idt 
the  outlines  of  a  constitution  be  drawn  up  by  this 
confederation  of  the  talents  and  wisdom  of  His  Ma- 
jesty's American  subjects,  and  sent  home  for  the  con- 
sideration of  the  Imperial  Parliament;  let  the  con- 
vention be  dissolved,  and  Great  Britain  will  then  know 
what  her  colonies  want,  what  they  require,  and  it  will 
be  for  the  British  Legislature  to  alter  or  amend  such 
constitution,  so  that  justice  may  be  done  to  all  par- 
ties, and  the  interests  of  neither  sacrificed."* 

Some  years  before  the  colonial  department  had  had 
this  union  under  consideration,  and,  in  1822,  Mr.  Ro- 
binson, afterwards  Chief  Justice  of  the  Court  of  Queen's 
Bench,  at  the  request  of  the  Imperial  authorities,  gave 
his  opinions  at  length  on  a  plan  of  union  that  had 
been  proposed.f  He  thought  he  saw  many  advan- 
tages in  such  a  union ;  but  the  Imperial  government 
appear  to  have  entertained  a  fear  that  it  would  lead  to 
the  colonies  combining  against  the  mother  country. 
Mr.  (afterwards  Sir  John)  Robinson  did  not  share 
those  fears.  The  question  attracted  some  atten- 
tion in  Nova  Scotia  about  the  same  time,  and  Mr. 


•  Colonial  Advocate,  .lime  24,  1824. 

f  Canada  and  the  Canada  Bill,  by  John  Beverly  Eobinson,  Esq.,  1840. 


THE   CANADIAN   IlEBKLLION. 


fliR 


Halliburton  wrote  a  pamphlet  in  which  it  was  advo- 
cated. 

Soon  after  Mr.  Mackenzie  had  entered  on  the  career 
of  a  journalist  a  general  election  came  on.  It  was 
held  in  July.  The  poll  was  kept  open  a  week  in 
those  times.  The  result,  a  majority  opposed  to  the 
Executive,  might  have  been  contributed  to  by  Mr. 
Mackenzie's  efforts,  though  there  is  no  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  it  was  much  aifected  by  his  writings,  since 
he  had  issued  only  a  few  numbers  of  his  paper. 
^'  are  had  been  a  great  change  in  the  personnel  of  the 
jriouse.  Only  sixteen  members  of  the  previous  As- 
sembly had  been  re-elected ;  there  were  twenty-six 
new  members ;  from  Essex  the  return  was  short  by 
one  member;  the  whole  number  being  forty-five.* 
In  the  new  House  the  government  was  destined  to 

*  In  the  following  list  of  members,  those  whose  names  are  in  italics,  held 
seats  in  the  previous  House : — 

Return  ok  Members  for  the  Ninth  Provincial  Parliament  or 
Upper  Canada. — Grenville — Jonas  Jones  and  Hamilton  Walker.  Glen- 
gary — Alexander  McDonnell  and  Duncan  Cameron.  Stormont — Archibald 
McLean  and  Philip  VatAwughnet.  Norfolk — Francis  L.  Walsh  and  Duncan 
McCall.  Prince  Edward — James  Wilson  and  Paul  Peterson.  Hastings — Reu- 
ben White  and  Thomas  Coleman.  Kent — James  Oordon.  Northumberland — 
Zttcchcus  Burnham  and  James  Lyons.  [Mr.  Lyons  was  unseated  by  a  commit- 
tofi  and  Mr.  Ewengo  declared  the  sitting  member.]  Frontenac — Hugh  0. 
Thomson  and  James  Atkinson.  Middlesex — John  Rolph  and  John  Matthews. 
Prescott  and  Russel — Donald  McDonald.  Lanark — William  Morris.  Ox- 
ford— Thomas  Ilornor  and  Charles  IngersoU.  Lincoln — Bartholomew  C. 
Beardsley,  John  Clark,  John  J.  Lefferty,  and  Robert  Randall.  Leeds — Charles 
Jones  and  David  Jones.  Essex — Alexander  "Wilkins.  Wentworth — John 
Willson  and  Oeorge  Hamilton.  Carlton — George  Thew  Borke.  Halton— 
Richard  Beasley  and  "William  Scollick.  Lennox  and  Addington — Marshall  S. 
Bidwell  and  Peter  Perry.  Durham — George  Strange  Boulton.  York  and 
Simcoe — William  Thompson  and  Ely  Playter.  Dundas — John  Chrysler. 
Town  of  York — John  Beverly  Robinson.  Town  of  Niagara — Edward  McBride. 
Town  of  Kingston — John  Cumming. 


m 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


I    i; 


I 


;«! 


I  [ ! 


be  confronted  by  large  majorities,  even  on  thoir  own 
measures — the  Alien  Bill,  for  instance — but  the  prin- 
ciple of  executive  responsibility  was  not  acknowledged, 
and  no  question  of  ministerial  resignation  ever  fol- 
lowed a  defeat.  '  ^  • 

Prior  to  the  meeting  of  the  new  Legislature,  there 
arose  a  government  prosecution,  on  which  much 
popular  feeling  was  excited ;  and  when  the  case  had 
come  for  a  jury,  Mr.  Mackenzie  showed  more  feeling 
at  the  demeanor  of  the  judge  than,  from  his  writings, 
he  appears  to  have  previously  displayed.  Mr.  White- 
head, the  customs  collector,  at  Port  Hope,  had  com- 
menced a  prosecution  against  Mr.  Wm.  Mackintosh,  the 
owner  of  the  Minerva  Ann,  for  an  infraction  of  the 
revenue  laws,  in  neglecting  to  report  her  arrival.  The 
fact  was  admitted,  but  the  public  feeling  ran  strongly 
in  favor  of  the  defendant,  the  offence  being  looked 
ujDon  as  merely  nominal.  The  jury,  probably  sharing 
the  common  feeling,  found  a  verdict  for  the  defend- 
ant; and  they  were  about  to  give  their  reasons  for 
doing  so,  when  the  court  interposed  an  objection  to 
the  irregularity  of  such  a  course.  Mr.  Justice  Boul- 
ton  told  the  jury  that  their  verdict  was  "contrary 
alike  to  the  law  and  the  evidence."  The  Solicito' ■ 
General,  (son  of  the  judge,)  who  was  conducting  the 
case  for  the  crown,  proposed  that  the  record  should 
be  read  to  the  jury,  whom  he  wished  to  reconsider 
their  verdict.  Mr.  Washburn,  on  behalf  of  the  de- 
fendant, attempted  to  reply,  when  a  scene,  the  reverse 
of  creditable,  occurred.  The  judge  having  perempto- 
rily ordered  Mr.  Washburn  to  sit  down, 

"Mr.  Washburn  said,  I  wish  to  know  from  your 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


61 


Lordaliip,  whother  I  am  to  bo  allowed  to  reply  to  Mr. 
Solicitor  General's  arguments  or  not? 

"Mr.  Justice  Boulton — Sit  down!  Sir,  I  say — sit 
down!     It  is  indecent  for  you  to  interrupt  the  Court. 

"Mr.  Washburn  again  attempted  to  speak. 

"Mr.  Justice  Boulton — Sit  down!  Sir, — Sit  down! 
or  I'll— I'll— Mr.  Sheriff,  take  this  fellow  out  of  Court! 

"Mr.  Washburn — My  Lord!  I  must  and  will  be 
heard.  Your  Lordship  informed  me  that  I  should 
have  liberty  to  reply.  I  am  standing  here  in  defence 
of  a  client  who  has  committed  his  case  to  my  hands. 
I  have  a  duty  to  perform  to  him,  which  is  paramount 
to  every  other  consideration.  I  will  not  desert  him 
now;  nor  can  I  be  driven  to  abandon  him  by  any  man. 
I  therefore  request  once  more  to  know,  before  I  sit 
down,  whether  I  shall  be  allowed  to  reply  ? 

"  Mr.  Justice  Boulton— Sit  down  !  Sir.  Mr.  Sheriff 
— Mr.  Sheriff,  take  this  man  out  of  Court!"* 

The  sheriff,  probably  making  allowance  for  the 
warmth  of  the  judge,  did  not  attempt  to  obey  the 
order.  After  the  judge  had  again  addressed  the  jury 
at  great  length,  they  retired  a  second  time,  and 
brought  in  a  special  verdict  in  writing,  amounting,  in 
effect,  to  precisely  the  same  as  the  first.  Again  the 
judge  remonstrated;  but  the  foreman  of  the  jury  cut 
the  matter  short  by  informing  his  lordship,  that  he 
should  prefer  to  starve  to  death  rather  than  alter  his 
verdict. 

On  this  proceeding,  Mr.  Mackenzie  commented  with 
greater  indignation  than  he  had  shown  on  any  pre- 
vious occasion: 

*  The  Report  is  taken  from  the  York  Obitrver,  a  government  paper. 


If 


1 1 


I 


I  ~'\ 


i\ 


m 


LIKE   OF    MA(  KENZIE,   AND 

"Were  I  at  this  moment  immured  in  a  dungeon, 
and  denied  the  privileges  of  the  lowest  hind  that 
breathes  the  vital  air,  and  crawls  along,  I  would  not 
exchange  places  with  our  high  born  ruler,  surrounded 
by  such  men  as  he  now  delights  to  honor;  i«o!  I  would 
spurn — I  would  loathe  the  very  idea  of  such  a  prostra- 
tion. I  am  the  son  of  an  humble,  obscure  mechanic, 
bred  in  the  lap  of  poverty;  but  not  to  inherit  the 
noble  blood  which  flows  in  his  veins — not  to  possess  the 
ancestral  grandeur  that  surrounds  his  name — not  to 
wear  the  star  that  adorns  his  breast,  nor  the  honorable 
orders  that  mark  his  valor — no!  not  for  worlds  would 
I  exchange  situations  with  him,  surrounded  by  men 
whose  whole  career  is  like  'vanity  tossed  to  and  fro 
of  them  that  seek  death.' 

"If  a  judge  can  bully  a  jury  into  submission  to  his 
dictation,  though  expressly  contrary  to  their  own 
solemn  verdict;  if  a  Solicitor  for  the  Crown  can  trample 
under  foot  the  dearest  rights  of  Britons ;  if  a  govern 
ment,  emanating  from  England,  can  cherish  such  a 
corrupt,  such  a  detestable  star-chamber  crew — then 
the  days  of  the  infamous  Scroggs  and  Jeffries  are  re- 
turned upon  us;  and  we  may  lament  for  ourselves,  for 
our  wives  and  for  our  children,  that  the  British  Con- 
stitution is,  in  Canada,  a  phantom  to  delude  to  de- 
struction, instead  of  being  the  day-star  of  our  dearest 
liberties." 

This  was  followed  by  an  appeal  to  the  new  Legisla- 
ture, to  address  the  Governor  General  to  dismiss  from 
his  presence  and  counsels  the  politicians  by  whom  he 
was  then  advised,  including  "the  whole  of  the  Boulton 
race,  root  and  branch." 


THK   CANADIAN    REBELLION. 


63 


CHAPTER  V.  . 

Removal  to  York,  tho  Sent  of  the  Upper  Cimada  Govornmcnt — Roporting  nnd 
Publishing  Legislative  Debates — Newspapers  and  Tostago — Tlie  Foundation 
of  Brock's  Monument  raised  to  fish  up  un  obnoxious  Newspaper — Parlia- 
ment House  at  York  Burnt — A  Hospital  turned  into  a  Legislative  Building 
— Meeting  of  tho  New  House — The  Government  in  a  Minority — An  Irre- 
sponsible Government — Temporary  Resolve  (not  carried  out)  to  return  to 
Dundas — Kissing  and  Government  Printing  go  by  Favor — Journey  to 
Kingston — A  Singular  Character — Feeling  towards  tho  "Yankees" — Tho 
Perils  of  Plain  Speaking — Dismissal  of  a  King's  Printer — Mr.  Mackenzie 
resolves  to  abandon  Politics  and  publish  a  Literary  Journal — His  Ideal  of 
a  Patriot. 

As  the  Legislative  session  approached,  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie saw  reasons  for  removing  his  establishment  to 
York,  then  the  seat  of  the  government  for  Upper 
Canada.  A  paper  published  at  Queenstown  must  ne- 
cessarily reproduce  stale  accounts  of  the  Legislative 
proceedings.  It  was  doubtful  whether  any  ne'.v,i|:aper, 
which  had  then  been  published  in  Upper  Canada,  had 
repaid  the  proprietor  the  cost  of  its  production.  Any 
publisher  who  sent  a  thousand  sheets  through  the 
post-office  must  pay  $800  a  year  postage,  quarterly 
in  advance.  Though  some  of  the  other  settlements 
were  well  supplied  with  post-offices,  there  were  none 
at  all  on  the  South-western  frontier,  from  Chippewa, 
by  Fort  Erie,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Grand  River.  The 
three  thousand  settlers  in  Dumfries  and  Waterloo  had 


64 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


I! 


im 


i  I 


to  travel  from  sixteen  to  forty  miles  before  they 
reached  a  post-office.  Postmasters  received  nothing 
for  distributing  newspapers,  and  were  accordingly 
careless  about  their  delivery.  Other  modes  of  distri- 
bution were  occasionally  resorted  to  by  publishers  to 
avoid  the  heavy  postal  tax.  Mr.  Mackenzie,  at  one 
time,  thought  of  publishing  the  Legislative  debates  in 
a  quarto  sheet,  without  comment;  but  he  must  have 
left  his  own  impulsive  temperament  out  of  the  account 
if  he  fancied  he  could  become  a  silent  recorder  of  other 
men's  opinions. 

Since  1821,  Francis  Collins  had  furnished  the  prin- 
cipal reports  of  the  Legislative  debates ;  but  it  is  in 
evidence  that,  up  to  1827,  the  operation  of  publishing 
them  had  never  been  remunerative.  Mr.  Mackenzie's 
political  enemies  and  rivals  in  the  press,  maliciously 
circulated  the  story,  that  he  had  removed  to  York 
under  a  promise  from  a  majority  of  the  members  of 
the  new  House,  that  he  should  be  guaranteed  the 
printing  of  the  bills  and  the  laws ;  to  which  he  replied 
that  he  would  feel  much  more  obliged  if  they  would 
speedily  improve  an  important  department  of  internal 
economy  of  the  Province — the  post-office-  -than  if  they 
gave  him  all  the  jobs  in  their  gift  for  a  century  to 
come.  The  new  House  paid  a  reporter  £100  for  re- 
porting during  the  session;  the  reports  to  be  delivered 
to  the  papers  for  publication,  unless  the  Committee  on 
Printing  should  exercise  the  arbitrary  discretion  of 
refusing  to  allow  any  particular  report  to  be  printed. 
While  these  reports  were  permitted  to  be  published 
in  The  Observer,  they  refused  to  allow  them  to  appear 
in  Tlie  Advocate.    After  this,  Mr.  Rolph  and  Mr. 


iijf  il 


THE   CANADIAN   EEBELLION. 


65 


Bearclsley  asked  to  have  their  names  struck  from  off 
the  Printing  Committee.  Beardsley  is  reported  to 
have  voted  for  the  exclusion  of  The  Advocate.  Mr.  C. 
Jones,  Mr.  A.  McLean,  and  Mr.  Beardsley  must  divide 
the  honor  of  the  act  among  them.  It  was  they  who 
assumed  the  power  of  suppressing  the  reports  alto- 
gether at  pleasure.  The  question  came  up  in  the 
House,  and  although  there  was  no  decision  upon  it, 
the  exclusion  was  not  long  maintained.  The  spite 
against  that  journal  was  carried  to  great  lengths. 
After  the  ceremony  of  re-interring  the  remains  of 
General  Brock,  at  Queenstown  Heights,  on  the  thir- 
teenth of  September,  1824,  some  person,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  Mr.  Mackenzie,  put  into  a  hole  in  the  rock, 
at  the  foundation  of  the  monument,  a  bottle  which  he 
had  filled  with  coins  and  newspapers,  and  among  which 
was  a  single  number  of  The  Advocate.  When  the  fact 
became  known  to  the  authorities,  the  foundation  was 
ordered  to  be  torn  up  and  the  obnoxious  paper  taken 
out,  that  the  ghost  of  the  immortal  warrior  might  not 
be  disturbed  by  its  presence,  and  the  structure  not  be 
rendered  insecure. 

Combining  a  book  store  with  publishing,  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie once  entertained  the  idea  of  relying  principally 
on  the  printing  of  books,  and  issuing  a  political  sheet 
occasionally.  The  Advocate  had  not  indeed  appeared 
with  strict  regularity;  only  twenty  numbers  having 
been  published  in  six  calendar  months.  Some  num- 
bers had,  after  several  weeks,  been  reprinted,  and 
others  continued  to  be  asked  for  after  they  could  be 
supplied.  The  last  number  of  The  Advocate,  published 
in  Queenstown,  bears  date,  November  18,  1824;  and 

0 


66 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


I    f 


r      I 


the  first  number  printed  in  York  appeared  on  the 
twenty-fifth  of  the  same  month.  In  January,  1825, 
its  circulation  was  stated  at  eight  hundred  and  thirty. 

At  Christmas,  1824,  the  northern  wing  of  the  Legis- 
lative buildings',  situated  on  the  site  of  the  present 
Toronto  jail,  was  accidentally  burnt  down ;  and  as  the 
new  House  was  to  meet  on  the  11th  of  January,  1825, 
there  was  not  much  time  to  find  new  quarters  for  the 
Legislature.  No  time  was  lost  in  putting  the  new, 
now  the  old  and  abandoned,  hospital,  into  order  for 
that  purpose.  ..     ,      .   ,         ;? 

The  first  trial  of  party  strength,  if  such  the  election 
of  Speaker  could  be  considered,  seemed  to  indicate  a 
pretty  well  balanced  House,  the  vote  being  twenty- 
one  against  nineteen  ;*  but  upon  other  questions  the 
government  minority  shrunk  to  much  smaller  dimen- 
sions. Mr.  Willson  of  Wentworth  had  become  the 
successor  of  Mr.  Sherwood  in  the  Speaker's  chair.  The 
Liberals  were  in  ecstasies.  "  The  result  of  this  elec- 
tion," said  Mr.  Mackenzie,  "  will  gladden  the  heart  and 
sweeten  the  cup  of  many  a  Canadian  peasant  in  the 
midst  of  his  toil."  The  advantage  of  such  a  victory 
must,  however,  be  very  small,  under  a  condition  of 
things  which  permitted  the  advisers  of  the  sovereign's 
representative  to  keep  their  places  in  spite  of  a  per- 
manently hostile  legi  lative  majority.    Not  only  were 

*  Vote  of  the  House  of  Assembly,  at  the  election  of  Mr.  John  Willson,  as 
Speaker : 

Yeat. — Messrs.  Rolph,  IngersoU,  Matthews,  McCall,  Horner,  fieasley, 
Beardsley,  McBride,  Olark,  Bandall,  Leflferty,  Scollick,  Hamilton,  Plajrter, 
Thompson,  Thomson,  Lyons,  Peterson,  Perry,  Bidwell,  and  "Walsh. — 21. 

Jfai/t. — Messrs.  Att'y  General,  Atkinson,  White,  Coleman,  Burnham,  Boul- 
ton,  Gk>rdon,  Wilkinson,  3  Jones's,  McDonell,  Macdonald,  YanKoughnett, 
McLean,  Morris,  Chrysler,  Cameron,  and  Walker. — 19. 


THE   CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


M 


ministers  not  responsible  to  the  House ;  they  did  not 
admit  that  they  had  any  collective  responsibility  at 
all.  The  Attorney  General  (Robinson)  said,  in  his 
place  in  the  House,  "  he  was  at  a  loss  to  know  what 
the  learned  member  from  Middlesex  (Mr.  Rolph) 
meant  by  a  prime  minister  and  a  cabinet ;  there  was  no 
cabinet :  he  sat  in  that  house  to  deliver  his  opinions 
on  his  own  responsibility  :  he  was  under  no  out- door 
influence  whatever."  All  eyes  were  turned  towards 
the  Lieutenant  Governor ;  and  as  there  was  no  respon- 
sible ministry  to  stand  between  him  and  public  cen- 
sure, the  authority  of  the  crown  which  he  represented 
could  not  fail  to  be  weakened  by  the  criticism  of  ex- 
ecutive acts.  The  new  House  was  described  by  Mr. 
Mackenzie  as  being  chiefly  composed  of  men  who  ap^- 
peared  to  act  from  principle,  and  were  indefatigable 
in  the  discharge  of  their  duties.  In  committee  of  the 
whole,  the  Speaker  entered  into  the  debates  with  as 
much  freedom  as  any  other  member.  -^  .,;'f  f  l^fv/ 
Before  he  had  been  in  York  five  months,  Mr.  Macr 
kenzie  formed  a  fleeting  resolution  to  leave  it,  and  rer 
turn  to  Dundas.  He  had,  while  there,  become  much 
attached  to  the  people.  If  his  paper  found  a  leas 
number  of  readers  there  than  at  York,  the  prospect 
was  rather  consolatory  than  otherwise,  since  he  would 
have  fared  better  if  the  number  of  his  patrons  had 
been  diminished  by  five  hundred.*  Mr.  Mackenzie's 
friends  had  urged  him  not  to  carry  this  resolution 
into  efi'ect;  but  it  was  taken,  and  was  not,  as  he  per- 

*  A  collector  vrhom  he  had  sent  into  the  country  with  $1,400  of  newep^pef 
accounts,  collected  in  eleven  weeks  only  £42  13«  lOrf,  from  which  £15  was 
deducted  for  personal  expenses.  To  obtain  this  much  the  collector  walked 
1200  miles.  ^»      i      ■      ,• ,   fi.s-i    (•!>;  c:.    'ji^-j -;>.•>  i>.i  ;; 


68 


LIFE   OF    MACKENZIE,  AND 


!     ' 


i,l,i 


■  .:'l 


suaded  himself,  to  be  shaken.  His  friends — we  are 
not  told  who  they  were — ^rejoined;  "If  you  remain, 
you  may  next  year  get  the  Legislative  printing."  He 
had  offered  to  print  of  the  laws  one  thousand  copies 
for  less  than  £100 — the  King's  printer  having  received 
over  £900  for  the  same  work  in  the  previous  year 
— and  failed  to  obtain  the  contract.  "  Business  shall 
be  dull  with  me,"  he  said,  "if  at  any  future  day 
I  condescend  to  take  those  measures  to  obtain  the 
work  of  a  legislative  body,  which  I  find  to  be  the  sure 
means  of  success  in  York."  For  whatever  reason,  he 
changed  his  resolution  to  return  to  Dundas,  and  re- 
mained at  the  seat  of  government.       '    i  •  '       ' 

In  March,  Mr.  Mackenzie  went  to  Kingston,  where 
some  of  his  wife's  relatives  lived;  "  a  journey  of  nearly 
four  hundred  miles,  on  some  of  the  worst  roads  that 
human  foot  ever  trod,  and  in  an  inclement  season  of 
the  year."  The  villages  of  Port  Hope  and  Cobourg, 
which,  five  years  before,  had  contained  some  half  a 
dozen  houses  each,  were  now  rapidly  increasing  post- 
towns.  At  Kingston,  he  found  that  foreigners  were 
not  allowed  to  visit  the  Royal  Navy  Yard,  the  Eng- 
lish Dock  Yard  customs  being  observed.  He  obtained 
a  visiting  pass  from  Captain  Barrie,  the  acting  Com- 
missioner. He  could  not  help  expressing  a  hope  that 
the  boastful  Yankees  might  be  taught  civility.  . 

"  I  went  on  board  the  great  ship  St.  Lawrence,  and 
although  none  of  your  warlike  sort  of  people,  except 
in  a  quiet  way  and  upon  paper,  I  do  hope  that  if  she 
is  ever  again  put  in  commission,  she  will  give  these 
noisy  brethren  of  ours  on  the  oi-iier  side  the  lake  such 
a  broadside  as  they  may  remember ;  so  that  at  the  peace 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


69 


which  will  be  thereafter,  I  may  hear  less  of  their  glo- 
rious and  uninterrupted  line  of  victories  by  sea  and 
land — General  Hull's  campaign  to  the  contrary  not- 
withstanding." ' 

Near  Port  Hope,  he  met  an  innkeeper,  whose  de- 
scription is  singular  enough  to  deserve  preservation  : 

"  An  innkeeper  of  eccentric  manners  resides  at  the 
*  Bull  Tavern,*  near  Port  Hope.  I  never  miss  calling 
on  him  when  I  go  that  way  ;  indeed  our  acquaintance 
is  of  five  years'  standing,  for  I  remember  when  he 
first  pitched  his  tent  where  now  stands  the  hospitable 
caravansary  of  '  John  Bull.' 

"  The  name  of  mine  host  is  Mr.  Thomas  Turner 
Orton,  and  he  is  far  above  the  ordinary  cast  of  inn- 
keepers, inasmuch  as  he  is  a  linguist,  a  polemic,  and 
a  political  economist  of  no  mean  celebrity.  When 
the  stage  stopped  at  the  '  John  Bull,'  Mr.  Orton  was 
busily  engaged  reading  the  Hebrew  Bible,  with  the 
aid  of  a  Lexicon,  and  he,  much  to  my  edification,  con- 
descended to  instruct  me  in  the  difiference  between  a 
Lexicon  with  and  without  points.  I  believe  the 
learned  Parkhurst  himself  could  not  have  given  a 
clearer  definition.  While  we  rested,  I  learnt  from 
him,  that  Mrs.  Thomas  Turner  Orton,  his  lady,  had 
been  bred  along  with  the  royal  family  of  France.  As 
also  that  the  Lieut.  Governor  had  made  him  an  offer  of 
the  U.  C.  Gazette,  that  he  is  an  adept  at  the  French 
language,  that  he  had  long  been  intimate  with  his  late 
Majesty  of  Sweden,  (Gustavus,)  and  on  tho  most  fa- 
miliar terms  with  the  King  of  Denmark.  Mr.  Orton 
was  formerly,  as  we  are  informed  by  the  London  Di- 
rectory for  1814,  a  '  Ship-owner  and  General  Commis- 


IJIiiil 


» 


LIFE   OP   MACKENZIE,   AND 


^i    t       J  ; 


::       ,     ,1 


sion  Agent,  Orton's  Terrace,  Commercial  Road,'  Lou 
don ;  and  it  was,  when  a  prisoner  of  war,  that  thia 
intimacy  with  the  predecessor  of  Bernadotte  had  its 
commencement."  ^'/i.  ii  :.ri.  .'hr// 

At  the  end  of  a  year  after  its  commencement,  forty- 
three  numbers  of  the  newspaper  had  appeared.  The 
subscribers,  who  were  accounted  with  at  the  rate  of 
fifty -two  numbers  for  a  year,  were  warned  that  they 
must  not  expect  any  greater  regularity  in  future.  The 
attention  which  even  a  weekly  newspaper  required, 
init  can  end  to  the  devouring  of  large  numbers  of 
books,  to  which,  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  previously  ad- 
dicted. "  Much  of  my  past  life,"  he  said,  "  has  been 
Spent  ir.  reading ;  to  this  the  last  twelve  months  form 
an  exception,  as  in  that  time  I  have  scarcely  had  an 
opportunity  to  open  a  volume."  One  year's  experi- 
ence had  taught  him  that  "the  editor  in  Canada,  who,  in 
the  state  the  Province  was  then  in,  will  attempc  freely 
to  hazard  an  opinion  on  the  merits  and  demerits  of 
public  men,  woe  be  to  him !  By  the  implied  consent 
of  king,  lords,  and  commons  he  is  doomed  to  speedy 
shipwreck,  unless  a  merciful  providence  should  open 
his  eyes  in  time,  and  his  good  genius  prompt  him  'to 
hurl  press  and  types  to  the  bottom  of  Lake  Ontario.'" 

The  time  was  rapidly  approaching,  when,  in  his 
own  case,  the  evil  genius  of  his  enemies  was  to  per- 
form this  service  for  him,  and  literally  throw  his  types 
into  a  bay  of  Lake  Ontario. 

From  the  16th  June  to  the  18th  December,  1825, 
there  was  a  cessation  of  the  publication  of  The  Advo- 
cate. In  about  eleven  months,  fifty-one  numbers  had 
been  issued ;  but  the  intermissions,  of  which  no  notice 


THE    CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


was  given,  did  not  conduce  to  the  success  of  the  jour- 
nal. The  readers  desired  to  receive  it  regularly  every 
week,  and  the  preparation  requisite  for  a  compliance 
with  their  desire  necessitated  a  breathing  spell.  After 
that  was  over,  Little  York  was  promised  a  newspaper 
equal  in  dimensions  to  the  more  noted  of  the  New 
York  sheets.  Unexpected  delays,  however,  prevented 
its  appearance  till  more  than  a  month  after  the  legis- 
lative session  had  commenced.  The  experiment  must 
have  been  a  hazardous  one  in  a  country  where  the 
population  was  scattered  over  a  very  wide  extent  of 
territory,  and  numbered  only  157,541 ;  not  much  more 
than  the  united  populations  of  Montreal  and  Toronto 
at  present.  >  -      c  :■:    s 

The  one  paper  circulating  among  this  population, 
which  yielded  a  certain  profit,  was  the  Upper  Canada 
Gazette.  It  became  necessary  for  Mr.  Mackenzie  to 
notice  a  story  that  he  had  been  offered  the  editorship 
of  the  official  paper  in  reversion.  He  showed  the  ab- 
surdity of  the  supposition  that  such  an  offer  could  be 
made  to  him  who  had  opposed  nearly  all  the  measures 
of  the  government.  At  the  same  time,  he  thought  he 
could  .nake  it  very  interesting,  in  a  few  weeks,  if  it 
were  under  his  control ;  and  while  he  should  certainly 
accept  the  offer,  if  made,  he  should  regard  him  that 
made  it  with  the  greatest  possible  contempt.  Mr. 
Fothergill,  the  editor  of  the  official  paper,  had  a  per- 
verse habit  of  speaking  his  mind  very  bluntly  in  his 
capacity  as  legislator ;  and  when  there  was  a  rumor 
of  his  intended  removal,  Mr.  Mackenzie  said  he 
had  too  good  an  opinion  of  the  Lieutenant  Governor 
to  think  that  he  would  attempt  to  injure  Mr.  Fother- 


72 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


gill  for  having  spoken  in  the  Legislature  as  became 
the  scion  of  an  ancient  and  honorable  family  and  a 
free-born  Englishman.  Mr.  Fothergill  had  joined  the 
extreme  Liberals,  on  the  Alien  question,  contending 
that  all  Americatis  then  in  the  country  ought  to  have 
the  full  rights  of  British  subjects  conferred  upon  them 
by  statute ;  and  he  had  moved  strong  resolutions  on 
the  back  of  an  inquiry  into  the  mysteries  of  the  Post- 
office  revenue,  taking  the  ground  that  it  was  contrary 
to  the  Constitutional  Act  to  withhold  from  the  Legis- 
lature an  account  of  this  revenue,  or  to  deprive  it  of 
the  right  of  appropriating  it.  He  had  also  moved  an 
address  on  the  Land-granting  Department — always  a 
tender  subject;  and  in  those  days  persons  who  ob- 
tained free  grants  of  land  thought  it  a  monstrous 
hardship  to  be  obliged  to  pay  the  official  fees,  making 
more  contortions  of  feature  over  the  transaction  than 
a  settler  makes  now  in  paying  his  two  dollars  per 
acre.  By  taking  this  course,  he  had  assisted  to  pro- 
duce those  numerous  defeats  which  had  fallen,  one 
after  another,  with  such  irritating  effect  upon  the 
government.  A  man  who  did  this  could  not  long 
continue  a  special  favorite  of  the  government  in  those 
times ;  but  that  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  ever  thought  of 
in  connection  with  the  editorship  of  the  non- official  part 
of  the  official  Gazette  is  out  of  the  question.  The  ink  of 
Mr.  Fothergill's  reported  speech  on  the  Post-office  ques- 
tion was  scarcely  dry  when  he  was  dismissed  fromthesit- 
uation  of  King's  Printer.  He  had  not  abused  his  trust 
by  turning  the  paper  with  the  conduct  of  which  he  was 
charged  against  the  government,  but  he  had  ventured 
to  confront  a  gross  abuse  in  the  Legislative  Assembly. 


Mil.. 


V 


THE   CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


73 


That  was  his  crime,  and  of  that  crime  he  paid  the 
penalty.  The  office  of  King's  Printer,  in  Lower  as 
well  as  in  Upper  Canada,  was  held  at  the  pleasure  of 
the  Governor,  and  the  incumbent  might  be  dismissed 
without  any  cause  being  assigned.  None  was  assigned 
in  this  case.  Mr.  Fothergill  had  no  warning,  and  the 
event  appears  to  have  come  somewhat  unexpectedly 
upon  him,  though  he  could  not  have  been  ignorant  of 
rumors  that  were  in  everybody's  mouth.  It  was  no 
doubt  inconvenient  to  have  a  King's  Printer,  who,  even 
in  his  legislative  capacity,  opposed  himself  to  the 
government ;  but  the  fault  lay  in  the  system  which 
permitted  the  incumbent  of  such  an  office  to  hold  a 
seat  in  the  Legislature.  The  union  of  judicial  and 
legislative  powers  in  the  hands  of  one  person  was  a 
still  greater  evil ;  and  though  it  might  have  been  pro- 
ductive of  far  worse  results,  it  was  permitted  to  exist 
long  after  the  period  of  which  we  are  now  writing.* 

Freo  'speech  met  small  encouragement  at  the  hands 
of  the  Executive.  Francis  Collins,  who  had  been  the 
official  reporter  of  the  Legislature  for  five  years,  in  an 
evil  hour,  in  1825,  commenced  the  publication  of  a 

*  There  still  were  reasons  why  the  government  and  their  dismissed  servant 
should  deal  somewhat  tenderly  with  one  another.  Mr.  Fotherg-U  explained 
the  matter  of  his  dismissal  in  an  address  to  his  constituents ;  and  though  he 
hinted  that  there  were  men  in  the  public  service  who  had  built  palaces  without 
any  visible  moans  of  accomplishing  such  a  feat,  ho  could  not  assert,  ho  re- 
marked, that  undue  influence  had  been  exercised  in  the  administration  of  jus- 
tice, or  that  "  improper  persons  had  been  exalted  into  guardians  of  the  pre- 
rogative, Legislative  councillors,  arbitrers  between  the  King  and  the  people." 
The  sarcasm  was  well  calculated  to  produce  effect  in  vulnerable  places  ;  and 
it  was  of  no  consequence  if  the  general  public  did  not  understand  it.  A  bond 
for  £360,  to  cover  the  amount  of  his  overdrafts  on  the  treasury,  was  not  taken 
into  account  in  his  settlement  with  the  government.  If  he  wk3  a  patriot,  his 
persecutors  were  not  without  a  spark  of  generosity.     ,  . 

10 


74 


LIFE   OP   MACKENZIE,  AND 


newspaper,  the  Canadian  Freeman,  and  in  that  year  the 
Lieutenant  Governor  cut  off  his  remuneration.  He 
exhausted  his  means  in  the  vain  effort  to  report  the 
debates  at  his  own  cost,  and  found  himself  embar- 
rassed with  debt;  Mr.  Mackenzie  seldom  or  never 
printed  Collins'  reports,  in  the  sessions  of  1825-G ; 
sometimes  he  dropped  into  the  House  and  took  a  few 
notes  on  his  own  account,  but  generally  this  service 
was  performed  by  some  one  else.     '     •  ^  •    '  •-{■"^ 

About  six  weeks  before  his  printing  office  was  de- 
stroyed by  a  mob,  Mr.  Mackenzie  drew  a  contrast  be- 
tween the  life  of  an  editor,  in  those  days,  and  that  of 
a  farmer ;  in  which  a  vast  balance  of  advantages  ap- 
peared in  favor  of  the  latter.  The  perpetuity  of  task- 
work involved  in  the  conduct  of  even  a  weekly  paper . 
was  felt  to  be  such  a  drag  that  he  became  appalled  at 
it ;  and  for  the  moment  he  resolved  to  have  done  with 
politics  and  political  newspapers.  He  would  by  this 
means  release  himself  from  a  galling  dependence  on 
sottish  printers,  reduce  his  expenses  with  the  size 
of  his  paper,  and  manage  to  have  at  least  the  Sundays 
to  himself.  Having  drawn  a  dreary  picture  of  edi- 
torial existence,  in  1826,  on  six-sevenths  of  the  week, 
he  added: 

"  Such  is  his  life  for  six  days  in  the  week  all  the 
year  round ;  and  how  think  you  is  the  seventh  dis- 
posed of?  If  I  would  speak  for  myself  I  might  truly 
say,  that  I  am  often  so  wearied  and  fatigued  with  the 
toils  of  the  working  days  as  to  be  perfectly  unable  to 
enjoy  the  rest  provided  by  a  kind  Providence  on  the 
Christian  Sabbath.  That  instead  of  being  fit  to  attend 
church,  read  the  Scriptures,  or  in  any  way  engage  iu 


THE   CANADIAN    RERKLLION. 


H 


the  duties  of  divine  appointment,  I  am  glad  to  lay  me 
down  on  my  bed  or  on  a  sofa,  as  a  temporary  relief 
from  the  effects  of  incessant  toil." 

Henceforth  his  paper  should  be  a  Journal  of  Agri- 
culture, Manufactures,  and  Commerce;  politics  should 
have  no  place  in  it ; 

"  I  will  carry  it  on  as  a  literary  and  scientific  work, 
will  enrich  its  pages  with  the  discoveries  of  eminent 
men,  and  the  improvements  of  distinguished  artists ; 
but  from  thenceforth  nothing  of  a  political  or  contro- 
versial character  shall  be  allowed  to  appear  in  the 
Journal  of  Agriculture,  Manufactures,  and  Commerce. 
By  diminishing  its  size  the  expense  and  trouble  at- 
tending it  will  bo  greatly  lessened,  and  truly  I  shall 
be  as  well  satisfied  to  employ  my  people  generally  at 
book  work,  which  is  a  more  easy  employment,  and  can 
be  increased  or  let  alone  at  pleasure.  I  shall  then  be 
freed  from  a  toilsome  and  irksome  dependence,  and  if 
I  lose  thereby  all  political  influence  over  the  minds  of 
the  people,  I  shall  gain  in  exchange,  what  is  to  me  of 
far  greater  importance,  a  more  extensive  command 
of  my  own  time.  I  must  endeavor  to  set  apa:t  a  day 
and  a  paper  wherein  to  review  my  past  labors ;  it  is 
good  to  take  a  look  at  the  past,  as  well  as  to  endeavor 
to  rend  asunder  the  veil  which  enshrouds  futurity. 

"'Till  youth's  delirious  dream  is  o'er, 
Sanguine  with  hope  wo  look  before, 

The  future  good  to  find. 
In  age,  when  error  charms  no  more, 

For  bliss  wo  look  behind.' " 

How  long  this  resolution  was  kept — whether  one  or 
two  days — cannot  be  determined  ;  but  the  next  num- 


n 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,    AND 


bor  of  his  journal,  which  took  the  folio  ahapo,  was 
chiefly  filled  with  a  long  review  of  the  politics  of  the 
Upper  Province.  He  gave  an  account  of  the  effect 
of  his  two  years' journalistic  campaign;  clniming  to 
have  largely  assisted  in  producing  a  party  revolution. 
Men  were  astonished  at  the  temerity  of  his  plain 
speaking ;  for,  since  Gourlay's  banishment,  the  pru- 
dent had  learned  to  put  a  bridle  on  their  tongues. 
Timid  lookers-on  predicted,  in  their  astonishment  and 
with  bated  breath,  that  the  fato  of  Gourlay  would 
soon  fall  on  Mackenzie  and  silence  his  criticisms. 
Nearly  the  whole  press  of  the  country  was  on  his 
back ;  but  in  spite  of  the  rushing  torrent  of  abuse  he 
kept  the  even  tenor  of  his  way,  avoiding  personalities 
as  much  as  possible.  In  the  number  of  the  4th  of 
May,  1826,  he  drew  an  excellent  picture  of  a  patriot;* 
and  there  is  no  doubt  that  he  had  tried  to  realize  the 
description  in  his  own  person. 

After  the  issue  of  two  numbers,  the  quarto  form  was 
abandoned,  and  the  broad  sheet  resumed.    But  the 


I  'ii 


r.ii  ii 


♦  A  patriot  is  none  of  your  raving  railing,  ranting,  accusing  radicala- 
nor  is  he  one  of  your  idle,  stall-fed,  groaay,  good  for  nothing  sinecurists, 
or  pluralists;  he  is  in  deed  and  in  truth  a  friond  to  his  country.  He 
studies  the  laws  and  institutions  of  his  nation,  that  he  may  improve  others  ; 
endeavors  rather  to  cultivate  the  acquaintance  of,  and  shew  a  correct  example 
to  the  better  informed  classes  ;  he  associates  only  with  those  whoso  private  con- 
duct is  in  unison  with  their  public  professions.  Is  not  a  mob  hunter,  nor  a 
lecturer  of  the  multitude ;  desires  rather  the  secret  approbation  of  the  enlight- 
ened few  than  the  ephemeral  popularity  of  the  many.  If  he  is  a  member  of 
Parliament  ho  looks  carefully  into  the  merits  of  the  question  and  votes  con- 
sistently with  his  conscience,  whether  with  or  against  the  ministry.  He  is 
neither  a  place  hunter,  nor  a  sinecure  hunter.  He  promises  his  constituents 
very  little,  but  tries  to  perform  a  great  deal.  Finally  he  is  among  the  last  of 
men  who  would  countenance  political  'gamblers  and  black  legs  ;'  but  a  wise, 
manly,  and  vigilant  administration  is  his  delight." 


Iliil, 


THE  CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


77 


resolution  to  abandon  political  disquisitions — probably 
the  impulse  of  temporary  dejection  or  despair — was, 
like  the  proposed  removal  to  Dundas,  given  up,  ap- 
parently almost  as  soon  as  formed.  At  all  times, 
during  his  life,  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  subject  to  great 
elation  at  a  brightening  prospect,  and  to  correspond- 
ing depression  in  other  circumstances.  Two  weeks 
after  the  contemplated  change  in  his  journal,  he  an- 
nounced that  it  would  be  placed  under  the  editorial 
direction  of  some  one  else ;  and  there  was  an  attempt 
to  carry  out  the  idea  that  this  had  been  done,  but  it 
appears  to  have  been  only  an  excusable  devise  for 
keeping  the  personality  of  the  editor  out  of  view. 


79 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,    AND 


H  I   !■ 

ill 


II 


'N  1 


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&!■ 


i'iii 


CHAPTER    Vr. 

Destruction  of  The  Colonial  Advocate  Printing  Office  by  an  Official  Mob — "Who 
threw  the  First  Stone — Mr.  (afterwards  Chief  Justice)  Macaulay  publishes 
Mr.  Mackenzie's  Private  Correspondence  with  him — The  Typo  Rioters  cast 
in  Civil  Damages — Illness  of  some  of  the  Jurors  while  locked  up — Mr. 
Fitzgibbon  collects  the  Amount  of  the  Damages  among  the  Officials  and 
their  Friends — Whether  the  Damages  were  Exemplary  or  Excessive — Spar- 
ring between  a  Judge  and  the  Attorney-General — Francis  Collins  Indicted 
for  Four  Libels — lie  Retaliates  and  causes  the  Typo  Riotors  to  be  Proceeded 
against  Criminally — Their  Conviction — Henry  John  Boulton  and  James  E. 
Small  tried  for  Murder,  arising  out  of  a  Fatal  Duel — The  Official  Party 
procure  a  Presentment  against  Mr.  Mackenzie  for  Libel. 

One  fine  summer  evening,  to  wit,  the  Sth  June, 
1826,  a  genteel  mob,  composed  of  persons  closely  con- 
nected with  the  ruling  faction,  walked  into  the  office 
of  The  Colonial  Advocate,  at  York,  and  in  accordance 
with  a  preconcerted  plan  set  about  the  destruction  of 
types  and  press.  Three  pages  of  the  paper  in  type 
on  the  composing-stones,  with  a  "form"  of  the  Jour- 
nals of  the  House,  were  broken  up,  and  the  face  of 
the  letter  battered.  Some  of  the  tj'pe  was  then  thrown 
into  the  bay,  to  which  the  printing-office  was  contigu- 
ous ;  some  of  it  was  scattered  on  the  floor  of  the  office ; 
more  of  it  in  the  yard  and  in  the  adjacent  garden  of 
Mr.  George  Munro.  The  composing-sl  i.e  was  thrown 
on  the  floor.  A  new  cast-iron  patent  lever-press  was 
broken.    "Nothing  was  left  standing,"  said  an  eye- 


THE   CANADIAN    RP^BELLION. 


79 


witness,  "  not  a  thing."  This  scene  took  place  in 
broad  daylight,  and  it  was  said  that  one  or  two  magis- 
trates, who  could  not  help  witnessing  it,  never  made 
the  least  attempt  to  put  a  stop  to  the  outrage.  The 
valiant  type  destroyers,  who  chose  for  the  execution 
of  their  enterprise  a  day  when  Mr.  Mackenzie  was 
absent  from  the  city,  were  most  of  them  closely  con- 
nected with  the  official  party,  which  was  then  in  a 
hopeless  minority  in  the  Legislature,  and  had  recently 
been  exasperated  by  a  succession  of  defeats. 

Mr.  Baby,  Inspector-General,  was  represented  on 
the  occasion  by  two  sons,  Charles  and  Raymond,  stu- 
dents-at-law.  Mr.  Henry  Sherwood,  son  of  Mr.  Jus- 
tice Sherwood,  gave  his  personal  assistance.  Mr. 
Sherwood,  while  yet  a  law  student,  held  the  office  of 
Clerk  of  Assize.  Mr.  Lyons,  confidential  secretary  of 
Lieutenant-Governor  Maitland,  was  there  to  perform 
his  part.  To  save  appearances,  Sir  Perigrine  found 
it  necessary  to  dismiss  Lyons  from  his  confidential 
situation ;  but  he  soon  afterwards  rewarded  him  with 
the  more  lucrative  office  of  Register  of  the  Niagara 
District.  Mr.  Samuel  Peters  Jarvis,  son-in-law  of  a 
late  Chief  Justice  of  the  Court  of  Queen's  Bench, 
performed  his  part,  and  found  his  reward  in  the  ap- 
pointment to  an  Indian  Commissionership,  where  he 
became  a  defaulter  to  a  large  amount.  Charles  Rich- 
ardson, a  student-at-law  in  the  office  of  the  Attorney 
General  and  Commissioner  for  taking  affidavits,  showed 
his  zeal  for  the  cause  of  his  official  friends,  and  re- 
ceived in  requital  the  office  of  Clerk  of  the  Peace  for 
the  Niagara  l>istrict.  James  King,  another  Clerk  of 
Assize  and  student-at-law  in  Solicitor  General  Boul- 


m 


w  I 


m 


80 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,    AND 


ill' 


II 


?|f  lii 


ton's  o:fl&ce,  did  not  hesitate  to  give  his  active  assist- 
ance. Mr.  Charles  Heward,  son  of  Colonel  Heward, 
Auditor  General  of  Land  Patents,  and  Clerk  of  the 
Peace,  and  Peter  Macdougall,  a  merchant  or  shop- 
keeper in  York  and  an  intimate  friend  of  Inspector 
General  Baby,  comj^lete  the  list  of  eight  against  whom 
the  evidence  was  sufficiently  strong  for  conviction. 
The  whole  number  of  persons  concerned  in  the  de- 
struction of  The  Advocate  office  was  fifteen. 

The  accompanying  plan  will  assist  in  the  compre- 
hension of  the  affair.  The  original  names  of  the 
streets  have  been  retained  on  the  plan  ;  but  it  should 
be  explained  that  what  is  there  sot  down  as  P  .st-office 
is  now  Caroline  Street ;  and  that  the  block  between 
Caroline  and  George  Streets  is  divided  by  Frederick 
Street,  which  runs  north  and  south.  Mr.  Mackenzie's 
house  and  printing  office,  which  were  joined  together, 
stood  on  the  corner  of  what  are  now  Caroline  and 
Palace  Streets.  The  house  had  been  the  residence  of 
one  of  the  early  governors  of  the  Province ;  and  was 
accidentally  destroyed  by  fire  four  or  five  years  ago. 
The  audacity  of  the  rioters  and  the  open  connivance 
of  leading  officials,  who  witnessed  the  scene  with  sat- 
isfaction, form  an  instructive  comment  on  the  state  of 
society  in  the  Family  Compact  of  the  little  town  of 
York,  in  the  year  of  grace,  1826. 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


81 


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82 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


It  is  difficult  to  believe  that  a  band  of  young  men, 
subordinate  officials  and  sons  and  relatives  of  the  of- 
ficial party,  planned  the  destruction  of  the  printing 
office  of  an  obnoxious  journal  in  secret,  and  executed 
it  without  the  knowledge  of  any  of  their  superiors. 
Lyons  miscalculated,  it  is  true,  if  he  thought  he  had 
adopted  the  road  to  immediate  promotion ;  for  what- 
ever secret  pleasure  the  members  of  the  government 
might  der:  ve  from  the  outrage,  a  British  governor 
could  not  protect  in  a  confidential,  one  who  had  been 
directly  concerned  in  it.  But  what  he  could  do,  and 
did  do,  with  indecent  haste,  was  afterwards  to  reward 
with  lucrative  official  positions  not  only  Lyons,  but 
also  others  who  had  taken  part  in  the  outrage.  After 
it  became  certain  that  a  conviction  would  be  obtained, 
and  a  criminal  prosecution  might  be  instituted,  a  very 
business-like  offer  was  made  to  pay  the  actual  damages, 
much  in  the  same  way  as  one  who  had  accidentally 
broken  a  sheet  of  plate  glass  while  passing  by  a  shop 
on  a  public  street,  might  do : 


t 


"My  Dear  Sir: — The  gentlemen  prosecuted  for  a 
trespass  upon  The  Advocate  Press,  so  far  from  enter- 
taining a  desire  to  do  an  irreparable  injury  to  the 
property  of  the  concern,  went  openly  to  the  office 
without  any  attempt  at  concealment,  and  aware  at  the 
time  of  the  responsibility  they  would  incur.  An  offer 
of  indemnity  to  the  actual  extent  of  the  injury  would 
have  been  tendered  immediately,  had  less  clamor 
been  raised  and  less  exertion  been  used  to  prejudice 
the  public  mind. 

"The  real  cause  of  the  step  is  well  known  to  all ;  it 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


83 


is  not  to  be  ascribed  to  any  malice — political  feeling — 
or  private  animosity ;  the  personal  calumnies  of  the 
latter  Advocates  point  out  sufficiently  the  true  and 
only  motives  that  prompted  it;  and  I  have  now  to 
offer  to  pay  at  once  the  full  value  of  the  damage  oc- 
casiojied  to  the  press  and  types,  to  be  determined  by 
indifferent  and  competent  judges  selected  for  that 
purpose.  Will  you  inform  me  how  far  your  client  is 
disposed  to  meet  this  proposal  ? 
"This  advance  is  in  conformity  with  the  original  in- 
tention, and  must  not  be  attributed  to  any  desire  to 
withdraw  the  matter  from  the  consideration  of  a  Jury 
of  the  country,  should  your  client  prefer  that  course ; 
but  in  that  event,  it  is  to  be  hoped  no  further  attempts 
will  be  used  by  him  or  his  friends  to  prejudice  the 
cause  now  pending,  nor  any  future  complaints  be 
made  of  a  reluctance  or  hesitation  to  compensate,  vol- 
untarily, a  damage  merely  pecuniary,  although  pro- 
voked by  repeated  assaults  upon  private  character  and 
feeling  not  susceptible  of  any  adequate  redress. 

"I  am,  very  truly  yours, 

"J.  B.  Maciulay." 

"J.  E.  Small,  Esq. 

If  the  party  who  committed  the  violence  had  from 
the  first  intended  to  pay  the  damage  they  had  done, 
in  the  deliberate  business-like  way  indicated  by  Mr. 
Macaulay,  it  is  surprising  that  some  of  them — not 
perhaps  any  of  those  finally  cast  in  damag-es — should 
have  absconded,  to  evade  the  consequences  of  their 
crime ;  but  it  is  possible  that  they  feared  a  criminal 
prosecution,  and  left  their  solicitor  and  friend,  who 
had  himself  offered  more  provocation  to  criticism  than 


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:|il 


84 


LIFE   OF    MACKENZIE,  AND 


any  of  them,  to  make  a  bargain  that  would  save  them 
from  the  jail.  It  seems  possible  that  a  criminal 
prosecution  was  at  one  time  thought  of;  for  I  find 
that  the  Bidwells  advised  Mr.  Mackenzie  not  to  pro- 
ceed in  that  way.  The  press-destroying  mob  were 
probably  surprised  at  the  indignation  their  achieve- 
ment excited  in  the  public  mind ;  and  in  the  begin- 
ning they  endeavored  to  stem  the  torrent  by  issuing 
two  placards  in  justification.  But  Mr.  Mackenzie 
had  been  guilty  of  no  aggression  to  turr-  tlie  tide  of 
p'iblic  feeling  against  him,  and  the  experiment  failed. 
It  was  not  till  cfter  this  that  the  above  offer  was  made. 
The  first  proposal  not  being  listened  to,  a  second  was 
iT'.ade  through  the  same  medii  m: 

•«6th  July,  1826. 

"MyDea.iSir: — My  friends  do  not  seem  inclined 
to  make  any  higher  proposals  than  follows,  and  which 
are  dictated  in  a  conviction  that  they  fully  meet  the 
justice  of  Mr.  Mackenzie's  claim — the  real  extent  of 
which  they  are  by  no  means  ignorant  of,  or  unable  to 
j)rove : 

"  They  will  (receiving  the  press  and  appurtenances) 
be  willi'ig  to  pay  £200  for  them.  This  sum  is  con- 
sidered not  only  the  value  of  the  whole  material  of 
the  esti.blishment,  but  amply  sufficient  to  cover  any 
contingencies  a'.^o ;  with  respect  to  further  compensa- 
tion there  would  be  no  objection  to  add  £100  more; 
in  all  £300  to  end  the  matter. 

"Or  they  will  agree  to  £200  as  above  stated,  and 
leave  any  excess  to  the  decision  of  indifierent  persons 
— or  thev  will  leave  the  whole  to  indifferent  and  com- 
l>ctent  referees  as  at  first  suggested. 


THE  CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


85 


"  If  your  client  can  meet  this  in  any  way  so  as  to 
terminate  the  controversy,  I  shall  be  very  glad ;  if  not, 
I  fear  the  law  must  take  its  course. 

"  I  am,  very  truly  yours, 
...  1  "J.  B.    Macaulay." 

"J.  E,  Small,  Esq.  . 

This  second  proposal  met  the  same  fate  as  the  first ; 
and  indeed,  if  there  had  been  no  object  in  making  an 
example  of  the  perpetrators  of  an  outrage  that  re- 
flected disgrace  on  all  concerned,  the  amount  offered 
as  compensation  was  ridiculously  inadequate.  But 
Mr.  Mackenzie  refused  any  amicable  settlement  with 
Mr.  Macaulay's  clients  and  friends;  and  there  was 
nothing  left  but  to  send  the  case  to  trial,  and  let  a 
jury,  upon  the  hearing  of  the  evidence,  award  equit- 
able, and,  if  they  thought  fit,  exemplary  damages. 

Mr.  Macaulay,  in  the  first  letter,  in  which  he  pro- 
posed a  settlement  of  the  matter,  assumes  that  the 
outrage  was  caused  by  "  the  personal  calumnies  of  the 
latter  Advocates ;^^  and  it  becomes  necessary  to  see 
where  the  aggression  commenced,  and  what  degree  of 
provocation  the  independent  journalist  had  given  to 
the  official  party,  by  whose  satellites  the  work  of 
destmction  had  been  done.  Nothing  is  plainer,  on 
au  examination  of  the  facts,  than  that,  until  violently 
provoked,  Mr.  Mackenzie  had  been  exceedingly  spar- 
ing of  personalities,  and  from  the  first  he  had  been 
anxious  to  avoid  them  altogether.  In  one  of  the 
earliest  numbers  of  his  journal,  he  said :  "  When  I 
am  reduced  to  personalities,  I  will  bring  T/ie  Advocate 
to  a  close."  To  the  personal  abuse  of  the  govern- 
ment papers  he  made  no  personal  reply;  confining  him- 


I! 


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1^1 


86 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


self  id  complaining,  in  the  spirit  of  injury,  of  the 
wrong  he  suffered.  Of  these  Mr.  Carey's  Observer  ap- 
pears to  have  been,  up  to  this  time,  the  greatest  of- 
fender. Between  the  personal  and  political  character 
of  the  actors  with  whom  he  had  to  deal,  Mr.  Macken- 
zie observed  a  proper  distinction.  Of  Governor  Mait- 
land  he  said,  "that  he  was  religious,  humane,  and 
peaceable ;  and  if  his  administration  had  hitherto  pro- 
duced little  good  to  the  country,  it  may  not  be  his 
fault,  but  the  fault  of  those  about  him  who  abused  his 
confidence."  Mr.  J.  B.  Macaulay  (afterwards  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas)  he  described — 
and  he  did  it  from  a  sense  of  duty — as  a  gentleman 
evincing  "  so  much  honor,  probity,  just  feeling,  and 
disinterested  good  will,"  as  generated  in  the  publicist's 
mind,  "a  greater  degree  of  respect  and  esteem  for  the 
profession  in  general  than  we  had  before  entertained." 
He  expressed  a  desire  to  see  his  friend  replace  Mr. 
Justice  Boulton  on  the  Bench.  Upon  this  latter 
functionary  he  had  been,  at  first,  playfully  sarcastic, 
comparing  him  to  Sir  Matthew  Hale,  and  latterly 
severe,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  case  of  the  Minerva  Ann 
trial ;  but  it  will  not  be  denied  that  the  judge  had 
fairly  laid  himself  open  to  criticism.  While  opposing 
the  Attorney  G-eneral  of  the  day,  (afterwards  Chief 
Justice  Sir  J  B.  Robinson,)  he  did  ample  justice  to 
his  talents  and  his  personal  character:  '  - 

"  Mr.  Robinson  has  risen  in  my  estimation,  in  re- 
gard to  abilities,  from  what  I  have  seen  of  him  dur- 
ing this  session ;  indeed,  there  are  not  a  few  of  his 
remarks  which  I  have  listened  to  with  pleasure ;  and 
some  of  the  propositions  he  has  made  in  Parliament, 


TIIK   CANADIAN   lii^BELLION. 


m 


I 


the  road  bill  especially,  (with  a  few  modifications,) 
have  my  en  tire  approbation.  As  a  private  gentleman, 
as  a  lawyer,  and  as  a  law  officer,  he  stands  as  high  in 
the  estimation  of  the  country  as  any  professional  man 
in  it.  As  a  counsellor  of  state  to  the  Emperor  of 
Russia,  or  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  he  might  have  figured 
to  advantage ;  but  his  principles  will,  if  not  softened 
down,  for  ever  unfit  him  for  a  transatlantic  popular  as- 
sembly. He  advocates  those  doctrines  with  singular 
force,  the  repugnance  to  which  un-colonized  the  thir- 
teen United  States ;  and  every  taunt  which  he  utters 
against  our  republican  neighbors,  tells  in  account 
against  the  interests  of  Great  Britain,  so  far  as  they 
are  united  with  this  colony.  It  is  evident  that  Mr. 
Robinson  has  not  been  long  enough  in  the  school  of 
adversity  to  learn  wisdom  and  discretion.  He  is  a 
very  young  man,  and  I  do  hope  and  trust,  that  when 
the  heat  and  violence  of  party  spirit  abate  within 
him,  he  will  yet  prove  a  bright  and  lasting  ornament 
to  the  land  which  gave  him  birth,  and  that  the  powers 
of  his  mind  will  be  exerted  to  promote  the  happiness 
and  welfare  of  all  classes  of  his  fellow  subjects." 

And  again :  "  I  would  wish  Mr.  Robinson  out  of 
Parliament  or  out  of  place ;  and  his  former  political 
career  none  condemned  more  boldly  than  I  did.  I 
have  seen  him  this  session  without  disguise ;  I  have 
watched  his  movements,  his  looks,  his  language,  and 
his  actions ;  and,  I  will  confess  it,  I  reproached  my- 
self for  having  used  him  at  one  time  too  harshly." 

Mr.  Mackenzie  had  been  severe  upon  Mr.  Jonas 
Jones,  but  that  gentleman  had  first  set  the  example 
of  using  harsh  terms.     He  had  said  in  reply  to  a 


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LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


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very  ablo  speech  in  the  House  of  Assembly,  on  the 
Alien  question,  that  the  member,  (Dr.  Rolph,)  who 
made  it,  had  a  "  vile  democratic  heart,  and  ought  to 
be  sent  out  of  the  Province."  If  an  appeal  to  the 
Sedition  Act  could  silence  an  opponent,  why  take  the 
trouble  to  refute  his  arguments?  He  had,  moreover, 
used  threats  of  personal  violence  against  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie, and  was,  of  course,  open  to  severe  retaliation. 
In  the  Legislative  Assembly  ho  had  called  Mr.  Hamil- 
ton, the  member  for  Wentworth,  a  "  fellow,"  when  a 
scene  followed  on  which  it  was  necessary  to  drop  tlio 
curtain  to  hide  it  from  the  vulgar  gaze  of  the  public. 
Considering  these  circumstances  in  mitigation,  it  must 
be  confessed  that  the  criticisms  upon  Mr.  Jones  scarcely 
exceeded  the  bounds  of  merited  and  justifiable  severity. 
To  Mr.  Henry  John  Boulton,  Mr.  Mackenzie  had  de- 
clarei:^  an  absence  of  per^^onal  dislike  in  criticizing 
his  public  acts.  Considering  Dr.  Rolph  too  sovere  in 
his  strictures  on  the  government,  he  had  opposed  him 
on  that  account,  and  a  personal  estrangement  had 
been  the  consequence. 

Such  is  the  manner  in  which  Mr.  Mackenzie  had 
treated  his  political  opponents  during  the  two  years 
he  had  controlled  a  political  journal;  and  it  may 
easily  be  conceived  how  slender  was  the  pretext,  on 
the  ground  of  provocation,  for  the  destruction  of  his 
printing-office.  I  do  not  say  that  he  had  never  ap- 
plied to  his  opponents  language  of  severity,  but  I  do 
say  that  he  was  not  the  aggressor;  that  under  the 
greatest  provocations  he  had  avoided  personalities; 
and  that,  at  the  worst,  he  had  not  proceeded  to  any 
thing  like  the  extremity  to  which  his  assailants  had 


!     ,:i 


THE  CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


89 


gone ;  and  this  not  for  the  wani  of  materials*  to  work 
upon.         *  I   .  ,,      I  ..   I.    .  ...    • 

In  the  meanwhile,  how  were  his  political  adversa- 
ries bearing  themselves  towards  Mr.  Mackenzie?  The 
Hon.  J.  B.  Macaulay  had  gone  to  the  unwarrantable 
length  of  violating  the  seal  of  secresy,  and  publish- 
ing private  letters  addressed  to  him  by  Mr.  Macken- 
zie; tliough  there  was  not  in  the  conduct  of  the  latter 
the  shadow  of  excuse  for  tliis  outrage.  Mr  "^  icaulay 
was  now  a  member  of  the  Executive  Count. i,  and  Mr. 
Mackenzie,  who  had  previously  praised  him,  had 
hinted  that  ho  was  not  an  independent  as  formerly ;  but 
this  was  in  a  private  letter.  The  cause  of  the  quarrel 
was  utterly  contemptible,  and  Mr.  Macaulay  showed 
to  great  disadvantage  in  it.  A  disagreement  had 
taken  place  between  the  Rev.  Dr.  Strachan,  then  Rec- 
tor of  York,  and  one  John  Fenton,  who  had  officiated 
as  clerk  under  the  rector.  Mr.  Mackenzie,  being  in 
Niagara,  learned  that  Mr.  Radcliife  had  received  a  let- 
ter from  Mr.  Fenton,  in  which  the  latter  stated  his 
intention  to  publish  a  pamphlet  on  the  state  of  the 
congregation  in  York.  Meanwhile  Mr.  Fenton  was 
reinstated  in  his  position.  Accordingly,  a  paragraph 
was  inserted  in  TJie  Advocate,  which  certainly  left  the 
impression  that  a  fear  of  the  threatened  pamphlet  had 
led  to  the  reinstatement  of  Fenton,f  with  an  increased 

•  In  The  Advocate  of  May  4,  1826,  he  said :— "  What  a  place  Little  York 
is  for  scnndnl  !  Nothing  can  equal  it !  Had  wo  set  apart  but  one  number, 
and  used  our  usual  diligence  to  embody  the  tales  current  of  the  vulgar  great, 
with  whoso  residence  this  place  is  honored,  we  could  have  set  the  good  people, 
GUI  ne^hbors  and  friends,  at  pulling  caps ;  aye,  even  in  time  of  church  ser- 
vice. But  we  left  the  quartering  of  the  arms  of  our  York  nobility  to  more 
friendly  hands,  pursuing  the  even  tenor  of  our  way." 

f  The  paragraph  was  in  these  words: — "Clerk  oy  the  Church — A  New 
Era! — Mr.  Fenton,  as  it  is  said,  having  announced  a  forthcoming  pamphlet 


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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  HS80 

(716)872-4503 


90 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


salary.  It  is  possible  that  the  insinuation  was  not 
just;  and  yet  this  could  not  be  said,  if  there  were 
no  mistake  about  the  alleged  facts  on  which  it  was 
founded.  It  was  not  denied  that  Mr.  Fenton  had 
been  reinstated,  but  it  was  alleged  that  his  salary 
was  increased ;  and  Mr.  Mackenzie  certainly  had  what 
seemed  to  be  good  authority  for  stating  that  the  pub- 
lication of  a  pamphlet  had  been  announced.  This 
was  the  only  statement  in  dispute,  and  if  it  was  not 
proved,  it  certainly  was  not  disproved.  Mr.  Radcliflfe 
might  have  been  asked  to  write  a  note,  stating  that 
he  had  not  received  such  a  letter  from  Mr.  Fenton, 
and  that  would  have  settled  the  matter.  Mr.  Ma- 
caulay  was  one  of  the  church-wardens,  and  after 
the  lapse  of  three  weeks  he  wrote  to  deny  the  state- 
ment that  a  pamphlet  had  been  threatened,  »>nd  that 
Mr.  Fenton's  reinstatement  carried  with  it  any  in- 
crease of  salary.  Mr.  Macaulay's  letter  was  sent  to 
The  Advocate  for  publication,  and  after  it  was  in  type 
he  wrote  to  recall  it,  not  because  the  matter  had  as- 
sumed a  new  shape,  but  because  Mr.  Fenton  had  writ- 
ten a  denial  of  that  part  of  the  paragraph  which 
related  to  the  pamphlet.  Mr.  Mackenzie  refused  to 
cancel  the  letter  to  which  Mr.  Macaulay  had  ap- 
pended, not  his  own  signature,  but  the  nomme  de  plume 
of  "A  Church- warden,"  on  account  of  the  offensive 
attitude  the  writer  had  assumed  toW&rds  the  editor  ;* 

upon  the  Btate  of  the  York  congregation,  the  doctor  made  him  new  advances, 
and  he  has  actually  been  reinstated  as  clerk  of  our  Episcopal  Church,  with  an 
additional  salary.     'Tis  a  good  thing  to  be^in  the  secret !" 

*  The  paragraph  is  in  these  words : — "  Had  the  church-warden  confined  his 
remarks  to  his  fellow  functionary  'the  clerk,'  we  would  most  readily  have 
distributed  the  types  of  bis  letter  yesterday,  as  he  requested.  But  the  tone  he 
has  seen  fit  to  assume  towards  ourselves  is  not  to  be  borne.    There  was  a  time 


THU  CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


'^i 


and  the  few  lines  in  which  Mr.  Mackenzie  explained 
his  refusal  to  comply  with  the  request  of  a  person,  who 
he  thought  had  forfeited  all  claim  to  his  indulgence, 
contains  the  whole  extent  of  the  provocation  he  gave 
to  Mr.  Macaulay.  Clever  men  often  do  very  foolish 
things  in  a  passion ;  and  Mr.  Macaulay  must  have  been 
in  an  uncontrollable  rage  before  he  brought  himself  to 
publish  the  private  letters  addressed  to  him  by  Mr. 
Mackenzie,  on  the  subject  of  the  Fenton  atfair,  and  to 
make  jeering  remarks  in  reference  to  Mr.  Mackenzie's 
mother,  an  aged  woman  of  seventy-five  years.  But 
he  did  not  stop  here;  he  sent  the  manuscript  into 
which  he  had  condensed  his  rage  to  Mr.  Mackenzie, 
with  an  offer  to  pay  him  for  its  publication  in  The 
Advocate;  a  paper  which  he  declared  his  intention  to 
do  all  in  his  power  to  crush.  One  of  his  advertise- 
ments, a  little  less  libellous  than  the  rest,  would  have 
been  published ;  but  the  money  being  demanded  in  ad- 
vance, Mr.  Macaulay  refused  to  redeem  his  promise, 
and  pretended  to  have  a  right  to  insist  on  its  publica- 
tion without  the  payment  he  had  at  first  offered.  He 
taunted  Mr.  Mackenzie  with  his  poverty,  and  with  what 
he  called  "  changing  his  trade,"  and  advised  him  to 
"  try  to  deserve  the  charity"  of  the  public  a  little  bet- 
ter than  previously,  if  he  expected  to  support  his  mo- 
ther and  his  family  by  the  publication  of  a  newspaper ; 

when  we  looked  upon  that  ehureh-watden  as  one  that  would  become  the  most 
open,  manly,  and  independent  of  his  class,  but  it  has  gone  by.  We  prized  his 
ttilents,  his  abilities  and  his  judgment  by  far  too  high;  and  the  tenor  of  his 
railing  accusation  against  us  will  show  the  Province  that  he  has  not  improved 
the  style  of  his  compositions  since  he  left  off  studying  Byron.  The  church- 
warden, who  is  not  one  of  our  subscribers,  will  find  to-morrow  that  even  to 
him  we  shall  not  meanly  truckle,  nor  shall  we  to  any  man,  although  the  black- 
est poverty  should  be,  on  earth,  our  reward." 


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1 1, 


jj 


92 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


U^ 


Ji'     !'■, 


as  if  it  were  asking  charity  to  publish  a  public  journal, 
,  at  the  usual  price,  and  a  crime  for  a  man  to  support 
a  mother,*  who  was  too  aged  and  too  helpless  to  sup- 
port herself.  Without  even  mentioning  him  by  namei, 
Mackenzie  bad  described  Mr.  Macaulay  as  a  man 
whom  he  had  ceased  to  look  upon  as  possessing  manly 
independence ;  and  in  return  this  member  of  the  go- 
vernment claimed  as  a  right  to  have  published  in  The 
Advocate  letters  containing  gross  personal  abuse  of  its 
editor  and  ridicule  of  his  aged  mother.  To  these  let- 
ters he  had  not  the  manliness  to  append  his  name ; 
if  he  had,  he  was  aware  that  their  virulence  would  not 
have  prevented  their  publication,  for  in  that  case  the 
writer  would  have  placed  himself,  as  well  as  his  anta- 
gonipt,  upon  trial  before  the  public;  and  every  one 
.who  read  them,  in  connection  with  the  comments 
they  must  have  provoked,  would  have  been  able  to 
judge  of  the  spirit  in  which  they  were  conceived  and 
the  justice  of  their  contents*  The  right  to  compel  the 
editor  to  publish  anonymous  communications,  which 
Mr.  Macaulay  had  claimed,  was  wholly  without  foun- 
dation ;  and  as  for  courtesy  to  such  a  correspondent  it 
was  out  of  the  question.  But  it  is  useless  to  reason 
upon  the  acts  of  a  man  who  had  permitted  passion  so 
completely  to  get  the  mastery  over  his  judgment.    , 

*  This  piece  of  insolence  was  founded  on  the  following  passage  in  a  private 
letter  addressed  by  Mr.  Mackenzie  to  Mr.  Macaulay : — •'  As  to  the  motives  and 
character  of  my  journal,  let  its  unexampled  circulation  among  the  better  classes 
in  the  colony  speak  for  me.  As  to  the  result — I  feel  that  I  mean  to  do  right — 
I  am  well  satisfied  that  I  am  doing  good,  and  though  I  have  to  struggle  with 
a  slender  capital  and  a  government  who  make  the  public  advertising  subservi- 
ent to  other  purposes  than  that  of  giving  general  information  of  the  thing  ad- 
vertised, I  am  as  well  pleased  and  as  contented  to  struggle  along  through  life 
as  free  as  the  air  on  the  Scottish  mountains ;  yea,  and  more  so  than  the  most 


THE   CAK/DIAN   REBELLION. 


i93 


It  is  far  from  my  desire  to  rekindle  animosities  that 
have  long  since  died  out,  and  the  recollection  of  which  is 
only  preserved  ft-om  oblivion  by  a  few  scattered  docu- 
ments and  the  shadowy  memory  of  the  observing  men 
of  those  times  who  still  survive ;  but  in  this  biography 
it  is  necessary  that  the  history  of  an  act  of  gross  vio- 
lence be  faithfully  given.  I  have  gone  into  the  pro- 
vocation oflFered  by  Mr.  Macaulay  at  length,  because 
it  was  in  reply  to  a  pamphlet,  in  which  he  em- 
bodied all  this  venom,  that  Mr.  Mackenzie  told  some 
stories  about  certain  members  of  the  Family  Compact 
that  he  never  would  have  put  into  print  if  he  had  not 
been  provoked  beyond  endurance.  If  in  striking  back, 
a  few  blows  fell  upon  Mr.  Macaulay's  official  asso- 
ciates, who  had  not  joined  openly  in  the  provocation, 
Mr.  Mackenzie  exceeded  the  bounds  of  strict  retali- 
atory justice;  it  must  b'^  remembered  that  the  connec- 
tion between  all  the  sections  of  the  Family  Compact 
was  very  close,  and  that  when  the  last  word  of  defi- 
ance has  been  hurled  at  a  man  he  is  not  to  be  bound 
by  a  very  rigid  etiquette,  if  he  finds  it  necessary  to 
"  carry  the  war  into  Africa."     But  the  reply,  calmly 

voluptuous  courtier  can  be,  even  in  his  most  joyous  hours.  If  I  am  enabled 
to  maintain  mj  old  mother,  my  wife  and  family,  and  keep  out  of  the  hands  of 
the  law  for  debt,  I  care  not  for  wealth,  and  should  as  willingly  leave  this 
eurthly  scene  not  worth  a  groat  as  if  I  were  worth  thousands.  I  one  day 
thought  I  should  have  wished  to  have  seen  you  meinber  of  the  Legislature  for 
York,  and  that  you  would  have  become  a  useful  and  truly  independent  repre* 
sentative  of  the  people.  It  was  not  to  be,  however.  I  greatly  mistook  your 
views,  which,  situated  as  you  now  are,  are  not  likely  to  become  more  liberal." 
Mr.  Macaulay,  in  commenting  on  this,  sneered  at  what  he  called  the  "print- 
ing business,"  and  asked  why  Mr.  Mackenzie  left  his  "former  honest  celling," 
as  if  a  profession  in  which  a  man  speaks  his  own  free  thoughts  is  not  just  as  re- 
spectable as  that  of  the  man  who  hires  out  his  wits  and  his  eloquence  in  defence 
of  every  species  of  criminal  who  can  pay  his  fee. 


>    ■ 


I.'    . 

il  ' 


94 


LIFE   OF  MACKENZIE,  AND 


m'^ 


'I  : 


m^: 


viewed  at  this  distant  day,  so  far  as  it  affected  Ma- 
caulay,  appears  mild  and  playful  beside  the  savagery 
of  the  unprovoked  attack  ;  I  say  unprovoked,  because 
it  does  not  exceed  the  bounds  of  fair  or  ordinary  criti- 
cism to  tell  a  political  opponent  that  you  have  ceased 
to  see  in  him  a  person  possessed  of  manly  indepen- 
dence. At  the  same  time  it  must  be  confessed  that 
some  of  Macaulay's  friends  came  in  for  knocks  which 
there  is  no  public  evidence  of  their  having  merited  at 
Mr.  Mackenzie's  hands ;  and  it  would  have  been  better 
if  he  had  confined  the  punishment,  he  was  well  en- 
titled to  inflict,  to  the  man  who  alone  had  raised  a 
hand  (except  through  the  medium  of  the  convenient 
instruments  of  their  will)  to  strike  him  down,  d  -nui  i: 
Macaulay's  libel  did  not  produce  the  effect  intended. 
The  object,  it  is  plain  enough,  was  to  provoke  Mr. 
Mackenzie  into  the  use  of  language  for  which  he 
might  be  prosecuted,  and  either  banished,  like  Gour- 
lay,  or  shut  up  in  a  prison.  But  Mackenzie  was  too 
wary  to  be  caught  in  this  clumsy  trap;  and  his  reply, 
instead  of  retorting  rage  for  rage,  was  playfully  sar- 
castic and  keenly  incisive.  The  dialogue  form  was 
adopted ;  the  speakers  being  a  congress  of  fifteen  con- 
tributors to  The  Advocate,  who  purported  to  have  as- 
sembled in  the  Blue  Parlor  of  Mr.  McDonnell,  of 
Glengary,  at  York.  Patrick  Swift,  nephew  of  the  im- 
mortal Dean,  who  had  inherited  a  share  of  his  uncle's 
sarcasm,  was  a  prominent  actor,  and  infused  his  play- 
ful spirit  into  the  other  contributors.  Over  a  huge 
bowl  of  punch,  toasts  are  drunk,  tales  told,  songs  sung, 
and  politics  discussed.  Judging  from  the  spirit  of  these 
proceedings,  Mr.  Patrick  Swift  and  his  coadjutors  were 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


95 


intent  on  copying  the  style  of  his  uncle  and  their  pro- 
totype: '  ilVfii.V    H^:'^'^^^  ,if>ii;M)(.  ;'f    /uirfKltt).'^^      xiS  HI 

^i-  'l^f/i    ilH  iii  "I'foin  tlie  planotof  my  birth,        ,|    '{(y  ljf;^iy,'\ ^,   ,,,  j 

I  encounter  vice  with  mirth ;        ,  /  ,      1  , 

""••''*■"* '^  **'_    Wicked  ministers  of  state  nr>i'./.  .'i  :  '.      Ul;} 

,'    il'r.f.,-;!  2-tA',    I  can  easier  Bcorn  than  hate;  ".>'iir  1 1     ,A{i:f    Jo  flMJiJ'r'f 
And  I  find  it  answers  right :  .      i 


Scorn  torments  them  more  than  spite." 


"  Lawyer  Macaulay"  was  *'  the  knight  of  the  rueful 
countenance ;"  and  it  was  hinted  by  one  of  the  wits 
that  even  he  had  family  reasons  for  not  scoffing  at 
persons  for  "changing  their  trade."  When  one  of 
the  company  was  asked  for  a  song,  he  excused  himself 
by  saying,  "Macaulay's  screech-owl  notes  are  the 
music  of  the  spheres  compared  to  my  singing;"  and 
so  he  claimed  the  privilege  of  telling  a  story  instead. 
Among  the  stories  told  was  one  of  a  person  who  got 
a  grant  of  land  for  his  mother,  many  years  after  her 
death,  and  twelve  hundred  acres  for  an  unborn  child ; 
and  a  document,  apparently  genuine,  was  produced, 
showing  that  an  honorable  personage  desired  to  locate 
two  hundred  acres  on  Burlington  Bay,  and  the  sur- 
veyor was  instructed  that  the  distinguished  name 
must  not  appear  on  the  plan.  One  of  the  speakers 
added,  by  way  of  explanation,  that  the  two  hundred 
acre  limit  produced  a  block  of  some  thousands,  which 
the  honorable  recipient  sold  to  great  advantage.  By 
virtue  of  his  official  position,  this  personage  made  large 
grants  of  land  to  himself,  and  appointed  himself 
puisne  judge,  receiving  an  additional  salary  of  £500 
for  the  performance  of  scarcely  any  duties.  This  had 
no  reference  to  Macaulay,  though  about  half  the  ten- 
columns'  dialogue  was  devoted  to  him,  much  of  which 


I 


i 


■w 


96 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


■,'ai  .' 


Jiifl' 


^li-ii 


consists  of  a  sharp  refutation  of  statements  published 
in  the  Macaulay  pamphlet,  most  of  which  were  either 
too  absurd  or  too  malignant  to  deserve  an  answer  at 
all.  Mr.  Macaulay  could  not  have  made  a  worse  se- 
lection of  the  time  he  chose  for  attempting  to  strike 
Mr.  Mackenzie  down.  The  latter  seriously  contem- 
plated retiring  from  political  discussions,  and  pru- 
dence might  have  suggested  that  he  should  be  allowed 
to  depart  in  peace.  ....  -jt  j  ,,,„. 

Mr.  Mackenzie's  enemies  were  furious.  He  had 
stung  them  to  the  quick ;  but  he  had  dealt  with  matters 
to  which  it  would  not  be  desirable  to  give  additional 
notoriety  by  making  them  subjects  of  prosecution. 
Truth  might,  legally  speaking,  be  a  libel,  but  there 
are  unpleasant  truths,  which,  though  it  be  illegal 
to  tell,  cannot  well  be  made  a  gi'ound  of  action. 
Juries  might  be  obstinate  and  refuse  to  convict  a 
writer,  who,  after  unbearable  provocation,  had  been 
stung  into  telling  unpleasant  facts,  a  little  dressed  up, 
or  exaggerated  though  they  may  have  been,  to  give 
effect  to  their  narration.  It  was  clear  that  Mackenzie 
could  not  be  banished  for  sedition.  He  could  not  even 
be  tried  under  the  Sedition  Act,  having  been  some 
years  in  the  Province ;  and  he  had  neither  spoken  nor 
published  any  thing  of  a  seditious  nature.  What 
then  remained  ?  The  sole  resource  of  violence ;  and 
violence  was  used :  the  office  of  The  Advocate  was  de- 
stroyed by  a  mob,  consisting  of  persons  who  bore  sus- 
piciously close  relations  to  the  government. 

The  trial  came  off  at  York,  in  the  then  new  but  now 
disused  Court-house,  in  1826.  The  defendants  had 
elected  to  have  a  special  jury;  and  on  the  ninth  of 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION, 


97 


October,  it  had  been  struck  at  the  office  of  the  Deputy 
Sheriff,  in  presence  of  Messrs.  Small  and  Macaulay, 
attorneys  for  the  plaintiff  and  defendant  respectively. 
On  the  day  of  trial,  only  eleven  of  the  special  jurors 
appearing,  the  deficiency  was  made  up  from  the  petty 
jury  list.  Of  the  twelve  jurors*  who  were  to  try  the 
case,  nine  resided  in  the  country,  and  only  three  in 
York.  Chief  Justice  Campbell  was  the  presiding 
judge;  and  by  his  side  sat,  as  associate  judges,  the 
Hon.  William  Allan  and  Mr.  Alexander  McDonnell. 
Both  sides  were  well  provided  with  able  counsel.  For 
the  plaintiff  appeared  the  younger  Bidwell  and 
Messrs.  Stewart  and  Small;  for  the  defendants, 
Macaulay  and  Hagerman.  Every  inch  of  standing 
room  in  the  Court-house  was  occupied  by  spectators, 
eager  to  witness  a  trial  which  had  prospectively  ex- 
cited universal  public  interest.  Many  witnesses  tes- 
tified to  the  destruction  of  the  printing  office,  and 
proved  that  the  eight  defendants  were  engaged  in  it. 
It  was  shown  that  the  Hon.  Mr.  Allan,  who  played  the 
part  of  associate  judge  on  the  trial,  had  been  in  con- 
versation with  Col.  Howard,  whose  son  was  among  the 
desperadoes,  at  a  point  where  they  must  have  wit- 
nessed the  whole  scene.  Though  they  were  both 
magistrates,  neither  of  them  attempted  to  remonstrate 
with  the  defendants,  nor  to  induce  them  to  desist. 
The  defendants  called  no  witnesses;  and  Mr.  Hager- 
man, in  addressing  the  jury  on  their  behalf,  assailed 

•Their  names  were: — Robert  Rutherford,  of  York,  foreman ;  Ezra  Annis, 

of  Whitby ;  Jamos  Hogg,  Milford  Mills;  David  Boyer,  Markham;  Valentine 

Fisher,  Vanghan ;  Robert  Johnson,  Scarboro ;  Joseph  Tomlinson,  Markham ; 

Peter  Secor,  Markham;  Edward  Wright,  York;  Joel  Beraan,  George  street; 

Gteorge  IShnw,  York. 
13 


08 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


The  Advocate;  but  he  did  not  venture  to  read  the 
objectionable  matter  to  the  jury.  Without  a  tittle  of 
evidence  to  support  his  assertion,  and  in  the  teeth  of 
well  known  facts,  he  stated  that  Mr.  Mackenzie  had 
left  York  at  the  time  his  printing  materials  were  de- 
stroyed, to  evade  the  payment  of  his  debts.  The  trial 
lasted  two  days,  which  were  days  of  great  anxiety  for 
the  plaintiff;  "because,"  as  he  himself  stated,  "great 
expense  had  been  incurred,  and  I  knew  that  if  by  any 
means  a  verdict  should  be  delayed,  or  no  verdict  re- 
turned, the  consequences  would  to  me  be  ruinous  in 
the  extreme."  "  .   . 

For  a  long  time,  it  seemed  very  unlikely  that  the 
jury  would  agree.  At  an  inclement  season  of  the 
year,  they  were  put  between  the  sweating  walls  of  a 
newly  plastered  room,  the  air  of  which  was  raw  and 
unpleasant,  where  they  remained  for  thirty-two  hours. 
Some  of  them  were  far  advanced  in  years,  and  three 
were  ill.  Mr.  Jacob  Boyer,  a  German  by  birth,  was 
so  bad  as  to  require  medical  assistance;  and  Dr. 
McCague  being  sent  for,  bled  the  enduring  juror. 
Boyer  said  he  was  prepared  to  make  a  pillow  of  his 
great  coat,  and  endure  another  day  of  that  close  cold 
room,  if  necessary.  The  evidence  was  clear  to  his 
mind,  and  he  would  not  be  starved  into  giving  a  ver- 
dict against  his  convictions.  During  all  this  time,  va- 
rious amounts  of  damages  had  been  discussed.  Sums 
varying  from  £2,000  to  £150  had  found  favor  with 
different  jurors;  but  the  real  difficulty  was  with  one 
man — a  George  Shaw — who  tried  to  starve  his  fellow 
jurors  into  compliance  with  a  verdict,  giving  £160 
damages;  but  finding  this  impracticable,  he  at  last  gave 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


99 


way.  Mr.  Rutherford,  the  foreman,  named  £625  and 
costs,  and  the  amount  was  agreed  to  by  all  the  jurors. 
Referring  to  the  result  of  the  trial,  soon  after,  Mr. 
Mackenzie  said:  "That  verdict  re-established  on  a 
permanent  footing  The  Advocate  Press,  because  it 
enabled  me  to  perform  my  engagements  without  dis- 
posing of  my  real  property ;  and  although  it  has  several 
times  been  my  wish  to  retire  from  the  active  duties  of 
the  press  into  the  quiet  paths  of  private  life,  I  have  had 
a  presentiment  that  I  should  yet  be  able  to  evince  my 
gratitude  to  the  country  which,  in  my  utmost  need, 
rescued  me  from  utter  ruin  and  destruction." 

Shortly  after  the  trial,  the  amount  of  the  verdict 
was  paid  by  Mr.  Macaulay  to  Mr.  Mackenzie's  attor- 
ney. The  money  was  raised  by  subscription ;  the  po- 
litical friends  of  the  press- destroyers  feeling  in  duty 
bound  to  bear  harmless  the  eight  volunteers  who  had 
performed  the  rough  task  of  attempting  to  silence,  by 
an  act  of  violence,  an  obnoxious  newspaper.  Col. 
Fitzgibbon,  laboring  under  an  irrepressible  sense  of 
duty  towards  the  kid-gloved  "roughs,"  took  round 
the  hat.  Unhappily,  no  list  of  the  contributors  is 
obtainable;  though  it  is  believed  the  officials  of  the 
clay  were  not  backward  in  assisting  to  indemnify  the 
defendants  in  the  type  riot  trial,  for  the  adverse  verdict 
of  an  impartial  jury.  No  mark  of  approbation  could 
well  be  more  sincere  than  this;  and  it  is  a  question 
whether  the  voluntary  accomplices  after  the  fact  were 
wholly  ignorant  that  the  outrage  had  been  planned 
before  they  knew  that  it  was  put  into  execution.  Col. 
Fitzgibbon  was  already  a  Colonel  of  Militia,  Deputy 
Adjutant  General,  and  Justice  of  the  Peace.    But  such 


100 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


services  as  his  wore  not  deemed  to  be  requited  by  such 
paltry  appointments,  and  he  was  therefore  appointed 
Chief  Clerk  to  the  Legislative  Assembly. 

There  remained  the  question  of  a  criminal  prosecu- 
tion. Mr.  Mackenzie,  being  called  before  the  grand 
jury,  declined  to  make  any  complaint;  and  the  ques- 
tion was  raised  by  some  of  the  journals,  whether  it  was 
not  the  duty  of  the  Attorney  General  to  take  proceed- 
ings criminally  against  the  press  rioters.  The  counsel 
for  the  defendants  gave  as  the  reason  why  the  Attor- 
ney General  had  not  proceeded  by  criminal  informa- 
tion, that  it  would  have  brought  on  him  the  censure 
of  having  desired  to  prevent  the  plaintiff  obtaining 
damages  in  a  civil  action ;  as  if  the  one  proceeding  in 
any  way  precluded  the  other.  When  afterwards, 
in  April,  1828,  the  Attorney  General  prosecuted 
Francis  Collins  of  the  Freeman  criminally  for  libels 
upon  himself,  he  appeared  to  be  considerably  embar- 
rassed at  the  novelty  of  the  proceeding  he  had  initiated; 
and  a  remark  he  made  led  to  a  singular  piece  of 
fencing  between  himself  and  Judge  Willis,  between 
whom  there  was  very  little  good  feeling.  On  the 
Attorney  General  remarking  that,  during  the  ten  years 
he  had  had  the  office  of  Crown  Lawyer,  he  had  uni- 
formly abstained  from  instituting  criminal  proceedings 
unless  upon  complaint  made;  the  judge  remarked 
that  this  was  proof  that  his  practice  had  been  uniformly 
wrong.  The  Attorney  General,  nettled  at  the  reproof, 
said  he  believed  he  knew  his  duty  as  well  as  any  judge 
on  the  Bench;  an  assertion  which  drew  from  the  judge 
the  caustic  rejoinder:  "That  may  be;  but  you  have 
neglected  it."    The  Attorney  General  then  assured  his 


TKE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


101 


lordship  thjit  ho  should  continue  to  follow  the  practice 
he  had  hitherto  pursued;  when  the  latter  informed 
him  that,  in  that  case,  it  would  be  his  duty  to  report 
such  conduct  to  the  British  Government,  and  that 
while  he  sat  in  the  Chief  Justice's  seat,  it  was  his 
place  to  state  to  the  Crown  officers  their  duty,  and 
theirs  to  perform  it. 

It  became  afterwards  a  common  complaint  with  Mr. 
^Mackenzie's  political  friends  and  business  rivals,  that 
the  damages  obtained  were  in  excess  of  the  actual  loss. 
It  is  possible  that  this  may  have  been  the  case ;  for  he 
himself  became  convinced,  after  the  office  was  reestab- 
lished, that  he  had  at  first  overestimated  the  loss. 
But  it  was  not  upon  his  representations  that  the 
amount  of  the  verdict  was  determined ;  and  as  Mr. 
Bidwell  had  insisted  strongly  on  the  necessityof  exemp- 
lary damages  being  given,  it  is  possible  that  the  jury  did 
not  altogether  overlook  this  hint.  But  such  pretences, 
as  afterwards  found  persons  to  utter  them,  that  "  the 
loss  was  not  fifty  dollars,"  were  too  evidently  charged 
with  malice  to  be  entitled  to  the  least  consideration. 

But  though  Mr.  Mackenzie  refused  to  ask  the 
grand  jury  to  initiate  criminal  proceedings  against 
the  rioters,  the  matter  was  not  allowed  to  rest.  Fran- 
cis Collins,  having  been  proceeded  against  criminally, 
by  the  Attorney  General,  for  four  libels,*  in  April 

*  Mr.  Mackenzie,  objecting,  in  his  journal,  to  the  composition  of  the  grand 
jury  as  unfair,  showed  himself  possessed  of  that  sort  of  power  which  moves  the 
masses  into  action.     A  short  extract  wiU  serve  as  a  sample : 

"  Wherever  the  seat  of  justice  is  open  to  corruption,  there  ought  the  sentinel 
of  liberty,  '  a  free  press,'  to  alarm  the  country ;  it  should  '  cry  aloud  and  spare 
not.'  And  if  the  day  should  ever  come  upon  us  in  this  favored  land,  when 
men  in  power,  forgetful  of  the  public  good,  and  mindful  only  of  their  private 
gain,  sliuU  desire  to  intimidate  the  public  journals  and  to  harass  their  pro- 


102 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,    AND 


m 


ff' 


1828,  retaliated  upon  the  party  of  his  accusers.  On 
information  laid  by  him,  seven  of  the  defendants  who 
had  been  cast  in  civil  damages  for  the  destruction  of 
The  Advocate  office,  were  tried  for  riot.  Raymond 
Baby  was  not  among  them.  This  proceeding  being 
of  a  retaliatory  nature,  and  taken  against  the  wishes 
of  Mr.  Mackenzie,  was  not  looked  on  with  much 
favor ;  and  though  the  defendants  were  found  guilty, 
they  were  let  off  with  nominal  damages. 

But  Collins  did  not  stop  here.  He  procured  infor- 
mations against  Henry  John  Boulton  and  Jas.  E. 
Small,  for  murder,  arising  out  of  their  connection  with 
a  duel,  in  which  Mr.  John  Ridout,  son  of  the  Surveyor 
General,  had  been  shot  by  Mr.  Samuel  Peters  Jarvis. 
Mr.  Jarvis  was  not  included  in  the  indictment,  hav- 
ing been  previously  tried  and  acquitted.  When  on 
the  12th  of  April,  the  grand  jury  brought  the  "true 
bill"  into  court.  Col.  Adamson,  the  foreman,  was  great- 
ly embarrassed.  Mr.  Justice  Willis,  though  he  could 
have  had  no  personal  sympathy  for  one  of  the  ac- 
cused,* shed  tears.     Mr.  Boulton,  who  filled  the  high 

prietora  on  frivolous  or  imaginary  charges  of  libel  and  sedition — let  the  peo- 
ple look  to  it.  Their  last,  their  best,  their  sure,  and  only  safeguard  from  dark 
oppression  and  misrule  is  about  to  be  butchered  in  the  public  streets.  Their 
lives,  their  fortunes,  their  religion,  and  the  quiet  of  their  domestic  hearths,  are 
menaced.  The  walls  of  the  citadel  begin  to  crumble,  the  strong  tower  of 
freedom  totters  at  its  base.    Again  we  say,  danger  is  at  hand,  let  the  fig- 

PLE  LOOK  TO  IT." 

*  Judge  Willis  afterwards  expressed  a  contemptible  opinion  of  the  Solicitor 
General's  legal  qualifications;  referring  to  a  statute,  "in  order,"  as  he  said, 
"that  it  maybe  seen  what  reliance  is  to  be  placed  on  the  opinion  of  Mr. 
Solicitor  General  Boulton."  Dr.  Baldwin  stated  before  a  Committee  of  the 
House  of  Assembly,  June  28th,  1828,  '« I  cannot  help  thinking  that  he  (Judge 
Willis)  was  rather  more  lenient  in  his  charge  upon  the  indictments  of  Mr. 
Boulton,  M.T.  Jarvis,  and  the  type  rioters,  than  the  occasion  required." 


,  'li  i 


THE  CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


103 


position  of  Solicitor  General,  lost  his  usual  sprightli- 
ness  of  manner,  and  sat  silent  and  thoughtful  beside 
Attorney  Greneral  Robinson.  A  pin  might  have  been 
heard  fall  in  the  crowded  court-room.  When  the 
thirteen  jurors  had  made  their  presentment,  the  col- 
league of  the  accused  Solicitor  General  rose  by  his 
side,  and  said  he  should  frame  the  indictment  against 
Messrs.  Boulton  and  Small,  as  accessories  of  Jarvis  in 
the  fatal  duel.  The  Court  made  no  remark.  Judge 
Sherwood  had  been  sent  for;  but  when  he  came, 
he  retired  into  the  grand  jury  room  instead  of  taking 
his  seat  on  the  bench  beside  the  Chief  Justice. 

Mr.  George  Ridout,  the  advocate  of  Collins,  came 
into  court,  and  moved  that  the  name  of  Col.  Fitzgib- 
bon  be  struck  off  the  list  of  grand  jurors,  on  the 
ground  that,  having  protected  the  type  rioters,  he  was 
not  a  proper  person  to  be  on  the  grand  jury.  Had 
he  not  been  there,  Mr.  Ridout  contended,  the  true 
bills  against  Collins  would  not  have  been  presented. 
He  read  a  letter  written  by  Col.  Fitzgibbon,  on  the 
type  riot,  to  show  that  his  objection  was  well  founded. 
The  Attorney  General  objected,  and  the  court  reserved 
its  decision. 

The  trial  for  murder  lasted  two  days,  and  was  pro- 
tracted the  first  night  two  and  a  half  hours  beyond 
midnight.  "The  candles,  untrimmed,"  wrote  Mac- 
kenzie, "  yielded  a  faint  and  glimmering  light  upon 
the  judgment  seat;  the  presiding  minister  of  justice 
in  his  long  black  robe,  was  supported  by  the  associ- 
ate judges  and  surrounded  by  the  officers  of  the  court." 
There  was  a  dense  mass  of  human  beings  in  the  court, 
all  still  and  attentive  listeners  "  to  a  tale  of  misery,  of 


*ir 


104 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


§i  !!; 


horrors  and  of  woe,  such  as  mortal  man  has  seldom 
heard."  The  defendants  were  acquitted ;  and  the 
judge  expressed  a  desire  that  the  proceedings  might 
not  be  published  at  length,  but  only  the  result  stated ; 
a  wish  that  seems  to  have  met  a  general  compliance 
on  the  part  of  the  press.  "  * 

Though  the  trial  of  Collins  was  not  proceeded  with, 
the  government  paper  announced  that  it  had  not  been 
abandoned ;  and  it  came  on  at  the  next  assizes.  • ' 

Nor  had  the  end  of  judicial  retaliations  yet  been 
reached.  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  not  to  escape.  And 
yet  he  deserved  some  consideration  at  the  hands  of 
the  official  party.  When  called  as  a  witness  in  the 
type  riot  prosecution,  which  he  had  refused  to  origi- 
nate, he  said  he  had  no  desire  to  prosecute  the  rioters 
against  whom  civil  damages  had  been  obtained  ;  and 
he  expressed  a  hope  that  they  would  receive  only 
nominal  punishment.  His  suggestion  had  been  acted 
upon.  But  all  this  did  not  avail,  at  a  time  when 
Collins  was  proceeded  against  for  four  libels  in  Upper 
Canada,  and  Mr.  Neilson  for  an  equal  number  in 
Lower  Canada.  It  was  not  Mr.  Mackenzie's  fault 
that  the  old  duel  case  had  been  raked  up ;  but  one  of 
the  crown  officers  had  been  put  upon  his  trial  at  the 
instance  of  another  editor ;  and  why  should  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie escape  when  crown  officers  were  in  question  ? 
Accordingly,  on  the  17th  of  April,  the  grand  jury 
made  a  presentment  against  the  editor  of  The  Colonial 
Advocate,  for  an  alleged  libel*  published  in  that  paper 
on  the  3d  of  that  month. 

*  The  following  ia  the  paragraph  charged  as  libellous  : 

"  Valuable  Keport  on  the  Conduct  of  th  e  Crown  Lawyers. — Always 


THE   CANADIAN  EEBELtlON. 


105 


Being  in  Court  when  the  presentment  was  made, 
Mr.  Mackenzie  went  to  the  Attorney  General,  and 
told  him  that  he  should  be  ready  to  proceed  with  his 
defence  next  day.  The  zeal  of  the  grand  jury  appears 
not  to  have  been  readily  seconded;  for  when  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie applied  personally  to  the  Court  to  recommend 
the  crown  lawyers  to  bring  the  charges  to  trial,  the 
Attorney  General  refused  to  proceed  with  an  indict- 
ment. On  the  night  after  the  presentment  was  made, 
the  defendant  collected  a  long  list  of  very  miscella- 
neous authorities,*  by  the  aid  of  which  he  felt  con- 
anxious  to  inform  our  readers  of  the  most  important  proceedings  of  the  Col- 
onial Legislature,  we  hasten  to  direct  their  attention  to  the  report  of  a  select 
committee  of  the  House  of  Assembly  on  the  petition  of  Mr.  Forsyth,  of  Niagara 
falls,  loudly  complaining  of  the  conduct  of  the  crown  officers,  and  of  a  de- 
fective and  partial  administration  of  justice.  The  report  speaks  a  language 
not  to  he  misunderstood,  and  we  trust  that  a  perusal  of  it  will  serve  to  stir  up 
the  dormant  energies  of  the  wholesome  part  of  the  population,  and  induce 
them  to  exert  themselves  manfully  to  clear  the  House  of  Assembly  next  elec- 
tion, of  the  Attorney  General,  Speaker  Willson,  Jonas,  David  and  Charles 
Jones,  Messrs.  Bur'ham,  Coleman,  ScoUick,  Gordon,  McDonell,  Beasley, 
Clark,  McLean,  Vankoughnet,  and  the  whole  of  that  ominous  nest  of  unclean 
birds  which  have  so  long  lain  close  under  the  wings  of  a  spendthrift  Executive, 
and  (politically  to  speak)  actually  preyed  upon  the  very  vitals  of  the  country 
thoy  ought  to  have  loved,  cherished,  and  protected.  No  wonder  it  is  that 
Parliament  should  find  its  energies  all  but  paralyzed,  when  such  an  accumul*- 
tion  of  corrupt  materials  is  left  unswept  with  thk  bksom  ok  the  peoi'lb's 
WBATH  from  out  of  these  halls  they  have  so  long  and  so  shamefully  'defiled 
with  their  abominations.'  " 

*  "  Blackstone's  Commentaries;  A  file  of  the  Advocate,  from  1  to  160;  A  few 

choice  selections  from  the  U.  E.  Loyalist;  Journals  of  Assembly,  1820,  1835, 

1826,  and  1827;  Burnett's  History  of  his  own  Times;  A  speech  of  John  Home 

Tooke;  The  Bible;  The  Book  of  Common  Prayer;  Edinburgh  Review,  1811, 

article  on  'The  Liberty  of  the  Press;'  Gourlay's  Statistics,  8  vols.;  Simpson'* 

Plea  for  Religion;   Swift's  Works,  a  volume  containing  'The  Drapier,'  &c.; 

The  Roman  Missal ;  The  Alien  Question  Unmasked ;  Earl  Stanhope's  Rights 

of  Juries ;  A  volume  of  Erskine's   Speeches ;  Dr.  Towers  on  Libel ;  Hone's 

three  Trials ;  The  Black  Book,  or  Corruption  Unmasked ;  Selections  cut  out 

of  files  of  the  Times,  Globe  and  Travell(?r,  and  Courier,  London  daily  papers, 
14 


i 


106 


LIFE   OF  MACKENZIE,  AND 


fident  he  should  be  able  to  make  out  his  case.  His 
own  account  of  his  preparation  for  a  forensic  display, 
in  self-defence,  may  here  be  given: 

"I  carried  into  Court,  tied  up  in  a  large  bundle 
[of  books]  with  striped  tape,  and  having  placed  them 
before  me  on  the  barristers'  table,  began  to  arrange 
them  after  a  very  imposing  legal  fashion,  having  by 
me  my  memoranda  of  references,  by  which,  as  to  an 
index,  I  could  refer  to  the  newspaper,  book,  or  paper 
wanted,  and  bring  forward  the  proofs  or  arguments  on 
any  subject  connected  with  the  matters  set  forth  in 
the  alleged  libel,  in  a  moment  of  time.  By  a  little 
exertion  over  night,  but  far  more  by  anticipation  at 
former  periods,  I  had  before  me  a  collection  of  mate- 
rials fit  and  relevant  for  my  purpose ;  and  had  I  been 
allowed  to  go  into  the  merits  of  the  case,  it  would  have 
defied  all  the  Attorney  Generals  in  British  America  to 
have  furnished  an  opposing  argument  equally  solid, 
strong,  and  convincing.  I  had  carefully  consulted 
both  the  law  and  the  practice.  I  had,  in  fact,  done  all 
that  man  could  do  to  give  the  judges  and  crown  law- 
yers such  a  dose  as  would  have  cured  their  itching  for 
state  prosecutions  on  alleged  political  libels  for  a  long 
time  to  come." 

by  myself,  and  reserved  for  a  case  of  libel,  as  fair  specimens  of  the  style  of  po- 
litical discussion  in  use  by  the  respectable  London  periodical  press ;  Babylon 
the  Great;  Junius;  Peter  Watson's  Trial;  Dr.  Strachan's  Pamphlet  and 
Chart;  Trial  of  J.  A.  Williams  for  a  libel  on  the  Durham  Clergy;  and  selec- 
tions cut  out  of  Parliamentary  speeches,  published  in  the  U.  E.  Loyalist.  These 
with  Mr.  Stanton's  •  Yankee  Doodle  Committee  Report  on  Captain  Mathews ;' 
'The  Rejected  Addresses;'  Cobbett  on  the  Freedom  of  the  Press;  The  Free- 
man, containing  Peter  McFhail's  effort  at  the  York  Independence  meeting, 
and  several  other  documents.' 


THE  CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


107 


Instead  of  being  put  upon  his  trial  for  the  alleged 
political  libel,  Mr.  Mackenzie  had  to  give  security  to 
the  amount  of  £200,  that  he  would  answer  the  charge 
at  the  next  assizes;  a  delay  of  which  he  thought  him- 
self well  entitled  to  complain. 


,  -   i  T     y- 


.1  ■   r; 


*       ,' 


^i  I 


m 


i 


108 


LIFE  OF  MACKENZIE,  AND 


■  ]  '  J      I'  '    .    1 1 


'  n 


•ilJ'n 


■•■.'■; 


llhl 


I'ti 


CHAPTER  VII. 

An  Event  that  lessens  the  Popular  Faith  in  the  Impartial  Administration  of 
Justice — Removal  of  Judge  "Willis  by  the  Local  Executive — The  Cause  of 
the  Difficulty — He  is  falsely  accused  of  Displaying  Temper  in  Court — 
A  wordy  Duello  between  Judges  Sherwood  and  Willis — Leading  Members 
of  the  Bar  side  with  Judge  Willis  in  the  Legal  Dispute — Decision  of  the 
Privy  Council  Unfavorable  to  Judge  Willis — Collins  convicted  of  Libel  on 
the  Attorney  General,  fined  £50,  and  sentenced  to  a  year's  imprisonment — 
Worse  Oflenders  of  another  Political  Stripe  overlooked — The  Fine  paid  by 
Subscription — A  Committee  of  the  House  desire  to  interrogate  Judge  Sher- 
wood about  his  Direction  in  the  Collins'  Case — He  refuses  to  have  his  Judi- 
cial Conduct  inquired  into,  but  gives  the  Information  to  the  Ex^utive — 
The  Assembly  denounce  his  Direction ;  but  the  Privy  Council  pronounce  it 
all  right — The  Libel  Prosecution  against  Mr.  Mackenzie  abandoned — Mur- 
der of  one  Knowlan,  a  Powerful  Bully,  by  Charles  French — The  latter,  a 
Witness  in  the  Type  Riot,  is  Executed. 

Before  the  trials  for  libel  could  come  on,  an  event 
occurred,  in  the  removal  of  Judge  Willis,  which  was 
not  calculated  to  inspire  the  defendants  with  confi- 
dence in  the  impartial  administration  of  justice.  If 
the  local  Executive  suspended  a  judge,  because  his  in- 
terpretation of  the  law  did  not  accord  with  their  views, 
the  power  of  the  Executive  in  political  prosecutions 
could  not  but  be  regarded  as  a  source  of  danger  to 
public  liberty.  Mr.  Willis  had  only  received  his  ap- 
pointment on  the  eleventh  of  October,  1827;  and  on 
the  sixth  of  the  following  June,  he  was  suspended 
until  the  pleasure  of  His  Majesty's  Imperial  Govern- 


'!  '  -i 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


109 


ment  should  be  known.  We  have  seen  that,  far  from 
bending  to  the  influence  of  power,  he  had  undertaken 
to  teach  the  Attorney  General  his  duty.  In  the 
Hilary  term  of  Michaelmas,  then  past,  Mr.  Justice 
Willis  had  taken  his  seat  on  the  bench  beside  Chief 
Justice  Campbell  and  Mr.  Justice  Sherwood;  and  dif- 
ferences of  opinion  on  points  of  great  legal  importance 
had  arisen  among  them.  Before  the  following  Easter 
term,  the  Chief  Justice  had  obtained  leave  of  absence; 
and  the  diiferences  of  opinion  between  the  two  remain- 
ing judges,  Willis  and  Sherwood,  were  carried  to  such 
a  length  as  to  excite  public  attention.  Under  these 
circumstances,  Judge  Willis  directed  his  special  atten- 
tion to  the  Constitution  of  the  Court;  and  he  found 
that  the  statute  creating  this  tribunal  provided  "  that 
His  Majesty's  Chief  Justice,  together  with  two  puisne 
judges,  shall  preside  in  the  said  Court."  Considering 
the  Court  illegally  constituted  without  three  judges,  he 
refused  to  sit  with  Mr.  Justice  Sherwood  for  his  only 
colleague,  when,  according  to  his  reading  of  the  law, 
there  ought  to  be  another.  Sometime  before  Trinity 
term,  it  came  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Provincial 
Government  that  Mr.  Justice  Willis  had  come  to  this 
conclusion.  When  the  opportunity  presented  itself, 
he  delivered  his  opinion  at  length  on  the  subject. 
Having  dealt  with  the  question  of  what  was  required, 
under  the  Provincial  statute,  to  constitute  a  legal  Court 
of  King's  Bench,  he  touched  upon  the  cause  of  the 
legal  inefficiency  of  that  tribunal.  The  Chief  Justice 
had  obtained  leave  of  absence;  but  he  had  obtained  it 
from  the  Lieutenant-Governor  alone,  while  Mr.  Willis 


1 1  ml 


li  >-t\\ 


no 


LIFE   OF    MACKENZIE,   AND 


contended  that  the  consent  of  the  Governor  in  Council 
was  necessary.  ■-   ,, 

The  opponents  of  Mr.  Justice  Willis  accused  him 
of  showing  temper  in  the  delivery  of  his  opinion  ;  but 
the  accusation,  when  sifted,  was  found  to  be  ground- 
less. A  Committee  of  the  House  of  Assembly,  of 
which  Dr.  Baldwin  was  Chairman,  reported  that  they 
had  "  particularly  inquired  into  this  matter,"  and  came 
to  the  conclusion,  "  that  to  the  public  eye  and  ear,  the 
manner  and  language  of  Mr.  Justice  Willis,  on  the 
occasion  of  so  expressing  his  opinion  on  the  Bench, 
relative  to  the  defective  state  of  the  Court,  in  no  re- 
spect departed  from  the  gravity  and  dignity  becoming 
him  as  a  judge;  and  peculiar  malevolence  alone  could 
represent  it  otherwise."  The  evidence  fully  bore  out 
this  statement.  "  When  Mr.  Justice  Willis  delivered 
his  opinion,"  Mr.  Carey*  told  the  Committee,  "  his 
conduct  was  dignified  and  honorable." 

When  Mr.  Justice  Willis  had  concluded  his  opinion, 
an  unseemly  spectacle  took  place.  Mr.  Justice  Sher- 
wood ordered  the  clerk  to  adjourn  the  Court.  Mr. 
Willis  replied  that  it  was  impossible  to  adjourn  what 
did  not  exist.  There  was  no  legal  Court.  Mr.  Sher- 
wood rejoined :  "  You  have  given  your  opinion ;  I  have 
a  right  to  mine,  and  I  shall  order  the  Court  to  be  ad- 
journed." "He  spoke,"  says  Mr.  Carey,  "  apparently 
under  great  irritation."  Mr.  Willis  bowed  and  with- 
drew, the  clerk  obeying  the  order  of  the  remaining 
judge.       ■  -  -   =^-' 

The  difficulty  that  had  occurred  between  Mr.  Jus- 

♦  Mr.  Carey  was  editor  of  the  York  Observer,  and  had  long  been  a  firm  sup- 
porter of  the  goTernment ;  but  at  this  time  he  was  wavering  in  his  allegiance. 


THE  CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


Ill 


tice  Willis  and  Attorney  General  Robinson,  on  a 
previous  occasion,  was  also  made  a  subject  of  inquiry 
before  the  Parliamentary  Committee ;  and  Mr.  Carey, 
in  his  evidence,  stated  that  so  far  as  manner  was  con- 
cerned, the  only  thing  to  complain  of  in  the  judge, 
was  his  too  great  lenity  in  presence  of  the  treatment 
he  received. 

Dr.  Baldwin,  Mr.  Robert  Baldwin,  and  Mr.  John 
Rolph,  practising  barristers,  entered  a  protest  against 
the  legality  of  the  Court,  when  it  had  been  constituted 
with  two  judges ;  giving  at  length  their  reasons  for 
agreeing  with  Judge  Willis,  that  in  order  to  a  legal 
constitution  of  the  Court,  there  must  be  three  judges. 
A  petition,  which  the  Duke  of  Wellington  thought 
deserved  no  particular  notice,  bearing  the  signatures 
of  thousands  of  Upper  Canadians,  in  favor  of  the  in- 
dependence of  the  judiciary,  and  sustaining  the  posi- 
tion of  Judge  Willis,  was  sent  to  the  King  and  the 
two  Houses  of  Parliament.  The  law  point  was  finally 
decided  by  the  Privy  Council  adversely  to  the  views 
of  Mr.  Justice  Willis,  whose  removal  was  thereupon 
ratified  by  the  Imperial  Government.  '  ' 

It  was  now  certain  that  the  juries  who  might  try 
the  libel  cases,  would  not  bo  directed  by  Mr.  Justice 
Willis,  but  by  some  one  whose  aifinity  to  the  prosecu- 
tors was  undoubted.  Soon  after  this  time,  Mr.  James 
Stephens,  then  counsel  to  the  Colonial  Office,  told  a 
Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  that  "  through- 
out the  colonies  a  body  of  gentlemen  are  acting  as 
judges,  who,  however  accomplished  in  other  respects, 
are  totally  destitute  of  legal  education."  If,  in  addi- 
tion to  this  they  were  also  mere  dependents  of  the 


ly 


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112 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,    AND 


Executive,  the  case  must  be  much  worse.  Soon 
after  the  commencement  of  the  York  assizes,  which 
opened  on  the  12th  October,  1828,  the  libel  prose- 
cutions against  Collins  came  on.  Of  that  upon  the 
Attorney  General,  he  was  found  guilty,  and  sen- 
tenced by  Mr.  Hagerman  —  who  had  temporarily 
gone  upon  the  Bench,  leaving  the  Kingston  collector- 
ship  of  customs  to  take  care  of  itself — to  bo  im- 
prisoned for  twelve  months  in  the  York  jail,  and  pay 
a  fine  of  £50.  The  libel  consisted  of  imputing  "  na- 
tive malignancy"  to  the  Attorney  General,  and  stig- 
matizing, as  "an  open  and  palpable  falsehood,"  a 
statement  made  by  that  functionary  in  open  court.* 

It  is  not  necessary  to  raise  the  question  whether 
such  libels  as  this  ought  to  have  been  met  by  a  criminal 
prosecution.  But  if  it  was  the  duty  of  the  Attorney 
General  to  prosecute  Collins,  it  was  also  his  duty  to 

*  CuUins  was  a  man  of  uncouth  exterior,  but  was  possessed  of  considerable 
ability.    When  Dr.  Home,  in  whose  office  he  was  a  printer,  gave  up  the  pub- 
lication of  the  Upper  Canada  Oazetta,  Oollins  applied  for  the  post  of  King's 
Printer,  and  was  told  in  reply,  that  the  office  "  would  be  given  to  none  but  a 
gentleman."    Being  disappointed  in  the  attempt  to  dispose  of  his  services  to 
the  government,  he  some  time  afterwards  oommonced  the  pablination  of  an 
opposition  paper,  a  very  slight  acquaintance  with  which  will  convince  any  one 
that  in  spite  of  his  natural  ability  he  sometimes  mistook  coarseness  for  strength  of 
language.     He  was  an  excellent  reporter,  and  for  several  years  acted  officially 
in  that  capacity,  as  the  servant  of  the  House.    It  was  not  his  habit  to  write  his 
articles.     He  put  them  into  type  as  he  composed  them.     He  had  the  strange 
vanity  of  boasting  his  descent  from  royal  personages,  and   was  naturally 
laughed  at  ft)r  his  pains.    When  he  was  incarcerated  for  libel,  Mr.  Mackenzie 
did  all  he  could  to  secure  his  release,  a  service  which  he  repaid  with  the  black- 
est ingratitude  and  the  coarsest  abuse.    From  sheer  business  Jealousy  the  Free- 
man had  at  all  times  been  excessively  abusive  of  Mr.  Mackenzie,  a  coin  in 
which  the  latter  never  stooped  to  repay  him.     But,  with  all   his  faults — and 
who  is  faultless  ? — Collins  must  be  admitted  to  have  done  good  in  his  day. 
He  died  of  cholera,  in  1834,  when  Mr.  Mackenzie  held  the  position  of  first 
Mayor  of  Toronto. 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


113 


prosecute  others,  connected  with  the  government  press, 
who  had  used  fully  as  great  a  latitude  of  expression. 
One  of  these  writers*  had  signalized  several  members 
of  the  Legislative  Assembly  as  "besotted  fools,"  actu- 
ated by  no  other  feeling  than  malice,  to  gratify  which 
they  pay  no  regard  to  truth  or  decency.  Addressing 
a  single  member,  the  same  writer  informed  him, 
"  There  are  no  bounds  to  your  malice;"  and  the  whole 
House  was  described  as  an  "intolerable  nuiiance." 
"The  poison  of  your  malignant  disposition,"  also 
made  use  of,  was  an  expression  fully  as  offensive  as 
"  native  malignancy."  If  it  was  the  duty  of  the  At- 
torney General  to  prosecute  for  the  use  of  such  lan- 
guage, he  was  bound  to  perform  that  duty  impartially, 
and  was  not  entitled,  in  fairness,  to  single  out  oppo- 
nents for  victims,  while  the  offences  of  political  friends 
were  overlooked.  ,     , ,  , . ,,  .  .,;  , 

A  public  subscription  was  raised  to  pay  the  amount 
of  the  fine ;  public  meetings  were  held  and  commit- 
tees formed  to  take  the  case  of  Collins  into  considera- 
tion. To  a  petition  for  his  release,  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  Sir  John  Colborne,  who  had  but  recently 
arrived  in  the  Province,  replied,  through  Assistant-Se- 
cretary McMahon,  that  he  respected  the  liberty  of  the 
press  very  much,  but  that  he  had  an  equal  respect  for 
trial  by  jury ;  and  that  the  danger  of  interfering  with 
their  decisions  must  be  very  great,  unless  when  they 
are  clearly  illegal.  This  was  on  the  8th  November, 
and  ten  days  later  Mr.  Collins's  petition  for  a  remis- 
sion of  the  sentence  elicited  a  direct  negative,  through 
Mr.  Secretary  Mudge,  who  was  instructed  to  add,  that 

•  Kingston  Chronicle. 
16 


lU 


LIKE    OF    MACKENZIE,  AND 


at  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  imprisonment,  "  any 
application  you  may  decide  to  make  will  bo  taken 
into  consideration  upon  the  facts  alleged  in  your  state- 
ment," which,  at  this  distant  day,  reads  very  much 
like  a  mockery  of  the  prisoner's  misery.  At  a  later 
period  the  House  of  Assembly  interposed  in  behalf 
of  Collins,  but  they  failed  to  change  the  determina- 
tion of  the  Executive  to  keep  him  in  close  confine- 
ment for  the  whole  of  the  prescribed  term  of  his  sen- 
tence. Sir  John  thought  himself  entitled  to  snub  the 
House  for  their  interference,  by  expressing  extreme 
regret  at  the  course  they  had  taken.  He  forgot  that 
the  Sovereign  whom  he  represented  is  the  fountain  of 
mercy,  and  thought  only  of  his  obligation  to  carry  a 
rigorous  and  cruel  sentence  into  eifect.    •      »  •  < 

The  Assembly's  committee  called  upon  Mr.  Justice 
Sherwood  to  give  evidence  in  the  case  on  which  he 
had  presided,  but  he  refused,  rightly  most  persons 
will  now  think,  to  have  his  judicial  conduct  inquired 
into  by  a  committee  of  the  House,  and  did  not  an- 
swer the  questions  put  to  him.  A  judge  is  necessarily 
liable  to  impeachment  for  improper  conduct,  but  not 
to  account  either  to  the  Sovereign  or  to  Parliament 
for  any  particular  judgment  he  may  have  given.  But 
if  the  House  of  Assembly  was  wrong  in  demanding  to 
know  from  Judge  Sherwood  the  grounds  on  which 
his  judgment  was  based,  and  he  was  right  in  refusing 
to  answer,  he  was  wrong  in  giving  to  the  Executive 
government,  as  he  afterwards  did,  the  information  he 
had  refused  to  the  House.*     Mr.   Hagerman,  who 

*  The  Legislative  Assembly  pronounced  Mr.  Justice  Sherwood's  charge  "an 
unwarrantable  deviation  from  the  matter  of  record,  and  a  forced  constructiun 


THE   CANADIAN    RKHKLLION. 


115 


was  acting  as  judjre  at  this  time,  waa  also  called  be- 
fore the  oommittce,  but  he  rofu.so<l  to  answer  the 
questions  put  to  him,  on  the  ground  that  they  im- 
peached the  conduct  of  a  brother  judge.  The  Legis- 
lative Assembly  having  denounced  the  conduct  of  the 
judges,  and  the  matter  having  been  made  a  subject 
of  complaint  in  a  petition  to  the  Imperial  authorities, 
the  ease  came  before  the  law-officers  of  the  crown,  in 
England,  for  their  opinion  thereon.  They  reported 
that  they  saw  nothing  objectionable  in  the  direction 
of  the  judge  or  the  verdict  of  the  jury. 

The  threatened  prosecution  of  Mr.  Mackenzie  for 
an  alleged  political  libel  had  been  kept  suspended 
over  his  head  for  nearly  a  whole  year,  when  a  day 
was  fixed  by  the  Attorney  General  to  strike  a  special 
jury,  which  had  been  demanded  by  Mr.  Mackenzie, 
when  he  found  that  the  list  of  petty  jurors  had  not  been 
returned  to  the  crown  office  as  usual.  Mr.  Sullivan 
having  unsuccessfully  applied  for  the  list,  on  behalf 
of  Mr.  Mackenzie,  went  to  Sheriif  Jarvis  to  inquire 
the  cause;  when  he  was  informed  that  Mr.  Justice 
Sherwood  had  directed  him  not  to  return  the  list  as 
usual.    For  some  reason,  however,  the  Executive  re- 

■         ;      .  .  ./       '   ..-jjr ..i.,,.^"',^  . 

of  language,  contrary  to  the  ends  of  fair  and  dispnesionate  justice."  They  also 
resolved  that  "  Mr.  Justice  Hagerman  one  of  the  persons  alleged  on  the  record 
to  bo  libelled,  refused  to  receive  the  verdict  first  tendered  by  the  jury,  viz: 
'Guilty  of  libel  against  the  Attorney  General  only,'  with  which  direction  the 
jury  complied,  whereby  the  defendant  waa  made  to  appear  on  record  guilty 
of  charges  of  which  the  jury  had  acquitted  him,  and  whereby  false  grounds 
wore  afforded  upon  the  record  for  an  oppressive  or  unwarrantable  sentence." 
"Mr.  Hagerman,"  it  was  further  declared,  "did  concern  himself  with  Mr. 
Justice  Sherwood  in  measuring  the  punishment  of  defendant;  thereby,  with- 
out necessity  for  it,  violating  the  rule  that  a  man  shall  not  be  judge  in  his  own 
ouse." 


I  m 


iifji.vjii 
i 


««!i!  n 


.\ 


Vi 


pi 
rtrt 


116 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


solved  to  abandon  the  prosecution,  and  two  days  be- 
fore the  date  fixed  for  the  striking  of  the  special  jury, 
the  Attorney  General  addressed  a  note  to  Mr.  Sullivan 
stating  the  conclusion  that  had  been  al-rived  at.  '  \i 
' /:  The  alleged  libel,  of  which  the  prosecution  was  thus 
abandoned,  was  purely  political.  It  was  neither  more 
nor  less  than  a  recommendation  to  certain  constitu- 
encies to  change  their  representatives  at  the  then  next 
ensuing  general  election  ;  and  expressed  in  language 
that  must  be  admitted  to  have  been  very  strong,  but 
also  very  general,  why  this  should  be  done.  "  The 
besom  of  the  people's  wrath"  may  be  an  alarming 
figure  of  speech  ;  but  after  all  it  is  only  a  figure.  Con- 
nected with  a  general  election,  it  ceases  to  wear  a  ter- 
rific aspect,  and  becomes  a  mere  question  of  defeating 
certain  supporters  in  the  Legislative  Assembly  of  the 
ruling  minority.  The  report  of  a  committee  of  the 
House,  on  which  the  paragraph  Was  founded,  con- 
tained more  serious  accusations  than  the  alleged  libel 
itself.  The  committee,  of  which  Mr.  Beardsley  was 
chairman,  reported,  among  other  things,  "that  some 
of  the  most  daring  outrages  against  the  peace  of  the 
community  have  passed  unprosecuted,  and  that  the 
persons  guilty  have,  from  their  connections  in  high 
life,  been  promoted  to  the  most  important  offices  of 
honor,  trust,  and  emolument,  in  the  local  government." 
Surely  this  more  than  justified  a  recommendation, 
however  strong  the  language  in  which  it  was  conveyed, 
that  the  supporters  of  such  a  state  of  things  should 
be  rejected  by  the  people,  at  the  next  general  election. 
It  was  certainly  a  wise  resolution  to  abandon  the  pro- 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


117 


secution,   whatever  may  have  been  the  cause  *   that 

led  the  government  to  its  adoption.       '•.•'.„  '■ 

About  two  years  after  the  type  riot,  a  tragical  event, 
which  bore  some  relation  to  it,  took  place.  Charles 
French,  who  was  in  Mr.  Mackenzie's  employ,  as  prin- 
ter in  1826,  and  was  one  of  the  principal  wit- 
nesses on  the  trial,  became  a  marked  man.  He  tried 
to  keep  the  rioters  out  of  the  office,  and  was  a  prin- 
cipal agent  in  their  conviction.  At  this  time,  there 
lived  in  York  an  Irish  laborer,  of  the  name  of  Know- 
Ian,  a  stalwart  and  pestiferous  bully,  standing  con- 
siderably over  six  feet  high,  and  possessing  great 
muscular  power.  Accustomed  to  carry  a  pair  of  short 
iron  tongs  concealed  about  his  clothes,  to  attack  perr 
sons  in  the  street,  and  insult  them  at  the  door  of  the 
theatre,  he  was  the  terror  of  the  place.  As  savage  as 
a  gorilla  and  twice  as  vicious,  Knowlan  was  the  man 
who  undertook  to  execute  vengeance  upon  Charles 
French.  During  the  winter  of  1827-8,  French  had 
fallen  into  habits  of  dissipation,  and  got  accustomed 


. '  ;• 


*  Mr.  Mackenzie,  writing  of  the  result  at  the  time,  says: — "Wo  can  only 
conjecture  the  cause  for  this  new  and  judicious  prnccdv^re.  1st.  We  should 
think  that  Sir  John  Colborne  would  he  ill  inclined  to  administer  to  the 
legacy  of  prosecutions  bequeathed  to  him  by  his  predecessor.  2d.  That 
there  were  very  poor  hopes  of  success,  in  the  present  state  of  public  opi- 
nion, as  must  have  been  evident  from  the  facts  that  the  alleged  libeller  had, 
nfter  giving  the  libel  the  greatest  possible  circulation,  after  presentment,  been 
returned  to  the  Assembly  for  the  county  where  he  resided,  and  where  the  often- 
Bive  libflUous  matter  had  been  previously  published.  8d.  That  the  country  is 
disgusted  with  the  cruel  and  vindictive  punishment  awarded  to  the  editor  of 
the  Freeman.  4th.  That  the  libel  is  true  and  not  false,  as  stated  in  the  indict- 
ment. 5th.  That  the  committee  of  the  Commons  of  England  had  deprecated 
this  sort  of  prosecutions.  Gth.  That  the  people's  representatives,  in  Parliament 
nsscmbled,  had  addressed  the  throne  on  the  injustice  and  the  partiality  hitherto 
pursued  in  libel  cases,  and  jwinted  out  to  His  Majesty  its  bad  eft'octs." 


118 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


:i  - 


to  divide  the  late  hours  of  the  night  between  the  dram- 
shop— of  which  there  were  sixty  in  a  town  of  less  than 
two  thousand  inhabitants — and  the  theatre.  He  occa- 
sionally took  a  subordinate  part  among  the  actors. 
Remaining  out  very  late  one  evening,  and  returning 
flushed  with  liquor,  French  met  Mr.  Mackenzie's  re- 
monstrance with  abuse,  and  was  dismissed,  in  conse- 
quence, from  his  employment,  on  the  6th  of  May, 
1828.  About  a  fortnight  after,  he  was  seized  upon 
one  night  by  the  bully  Knowlan,  who,  in  answer  to 
an  inquiry  from  Mr.  Charles  Baker,  said  he  was  going 
to  carry  him  to  the  river  and  drown  him.  In  re- 
leasing his  victim,  whom  he  had  hoisted  upon  his 
shoulder,  Knowlan  threatened,  with  an  oath,  that  he 
"  would  settle  him  yet."  On  the  4th  of  June,  Know- 
lan was  at  the  militia  trainings  where  he  assaulted  a 
constable,  and  was  to  have  been  brought  up  next  day 
for  the  oifence.  But  death  intervened.  Knowlan 
was  at  the  theatre  that  night,  with  his  tongs,  as  usual. 
When  the  play  was  about  half  over,  in  an  insult- 
ing manner  he  went  up  to  French,  and  taking  out  his 
tongs,  he  w^as  heard  to  swear  that  he  would  measure 
them  over  the  head  of  French  and  those  of  two  or  three 
other  persons,  if  he  only  had  them  outside  the  theatre. 
French,  who  was  of  a  naturally  mild  disposition  when 
sane  and  sober,  was  subject  to  violent  fits  of  insanity ; 
and  liquor,  when  too  freely  taken,  produced  the  most 
terrible  eifect  upon  him.  He  had  been  drinking,  and 
became  excited  by  the  menace  of  Knowlan,  aggravated 
as  it  was,  by  a  hideous  contortion  of  his  brows,  and 
recalling,  as  it  must,  the  throat  which  Knowlan  had 


mad( 


against   his  life,  a  fortnight  before. 


Besides, 


THE  CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


119 


French  was  suffering  from  a  pain  in  the  breast,  occa- 
sioned by  a  blow  from  the  ruffian,  some  time  before. 
It  was  while  listening  to  "  Tom  and  Jerry,  or  Life  in 
London,"  that  French  became  alarmed  at  Knowlan's 
threats.  He  mentioned  the  circumstance  to  one  Wil- 
liam Gredd,  saying  he  felt  his  life  in  danger,  and  was 
without  any  means  of  defence.  A  person  named  Gos- 
ling, a  boon  companion  of  French,  hearing  of  this, 
went  to  one  Wm.  D.  Forest,  and  asked  to  borrow  from 
him  a  pistol  that  was  in  his  possession.  French,  being 
called  out  of  the  theatre,  was  informed  by  Forest,  that, 
though  he  had  but  one  pistol,  and  that  a  borrowed 
one,  he  would  let  him  have  it.  It  was  loaded  with 
ball.  French  returned  to  the  theatre,  but  left  before 
the  farce  was  over,  and  took  more  drink.  About  mid- 
night, when  he  and  three  companions  were  returning 
from  drinking  at  Howard's,  they  met  Knowlan  walk- 
ing a  little  behind  some  of  his  associates.  French 
having  spoken  to  him,  Knowlan  asked  with  an  oath, 
why  he  was  standing  there  ?  He  approached  towards 
French,  and  raised  his  hand,  as  French  supposed,  to 
fulfil  his  threat,  when  the  latter  fired  the  pistol,  and 
shot  Knowlan  through  the  liver.  Knowlan  died 
eighteen  hours  after  he  received  the  wound;  and 
French  was  found  guilty  of  murder  and  sentenced  to 
be  hanged.  The  trial  took  place  on  the  17th  of  Oc- 
tober, and  the  execution  was  to  follow  in  three  days. 
In  a  few  hours,  a  petition  for  the  mitigation  of  pun- 
ishment, was  signed  by  eleven  hundred  persons ;  it 
was  taken  to  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  at  Stamford  ; 
but  thb  only  result  was  a  respite  till  the  23d,  six  days 


m 


111 


y.M 


Mrrv 


I'  1 1 


n^ 

,'«.' 


120 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


after  the  trial,  when  the  sentence  of  death  was  carried 
into  effect.  ,*,,;. 

In  a  statement  made  by  French,  in  his  last  mo- 
ments, he  reproached  himself  with  the  reflection,  th^t, 
"had  I  attended  to  the  oft-repeated  advice  of  my 
friends,  especially  my  dear  mother  and  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie, and  avoided  bad  company  and  drinking,  I 
should  not  now  be  here;  but  I  would  not  attend,  and 
now  I  have  to  suffer."    , 


1    « ,     I 


"'  '      ,a.;, 


' .  i ' 


'                      ^^m 

Effect  of  th 

1                ^^^^1 

^^^^H 

pectation. 

^^^^^1 

on  by  An 

Tableau  « 

^H 

ness  and  '. 

^M 

kenzie— i 

^^^^H 
^^^^^B 

England  \ 

H 

ism — Lett 

Subjects  m 

^^^H 

try— Diffic 

1 

Faith  in  A 

"     I 

ViOLE 

^H 

defeat  its 

1 

taken  to 

^^H 

ruling  fa( 

^^^H 

firm  estal 

^^^^H 

was  brok( 

'     ''        1 

number  ( 

^^^H 

^^^H 

was  not  1 

^H 

might  not 

..  i  H 

its  own  k( 

^M 

pended  en 

^H 

thened  as 

^^^B 

and  addre 

H 

had  never 

H 

it.    What 

THE   CANADIAN   BEBELLION. 


121 


..f.i 


•     V.O     !-■     fiCi 


^^'P■     :/VXff 


1.  . '  » 


^ ', 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


;;.'<i<*;. 


BflFect  of  the  Destruction  of  the  Advocate  Printing  Office  contrary  to  the  Ex- 
pectations of  its  Perpetrators — Pecuniary  Embarrassments — Fever  brought 
on  by  Anxiety  and  Vexation — Herculean  Peats  by  the  Midnight  Lamp — 
Tableau  of  an  overworited  Newspaper  Editor — Haunted  by  Ague — Sick- 
ness and  Death  in  the  Family — Robert  Randall ;  his  Influence  on  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie— Acting  in  Concert  with  Mackensie  and  others,  Randall  goes  to 
England  with  Petitions  on  the  Alien  Question — The  Pocket  Test  of  Patriot- 
ism— Letters  to  Earl  Dalhousie — Statement  of  the  Alien  Question — British 
Subjects  made  Aliens  by  the  mere  Act  of  Passing  through  a  Foreign  Coun- 
try—Difficulty of  the  Que' ion;    Its  final  Settlement — Mr.   Mackenzie's 

Faith  in  Appeals  to  the  Colonial  Office. 

'I  ■--  :■    ',}'>':^!  ■■:  .; 

Violence  is  a  blindfolded  demon,  more  likely  to 
defeat  its  own  objects  than  to  attain  them.  The  means 
taken  to  crush  a  public  journal,  obnoxious  to  the 
ruling  faction,  proved  the  cause  of  its  resuscitation  and 
firm  establishment.  At  the  very  time  when  the  press 
was  broken  and  the  type  thrown  into  the  bay,  the  last 
number  of  The  Advocate  had  been  issued.  The  fact 
was  not  known  to  Mr.  Mackenzie's  enemies,  or  they 
might  not  have  smote  the  lion  that  was  supposed  by 
its  own  keeper  to  be  dead,  and  thus  recalled  its  sus- 
pended energies  to  life  and  action.  The  publication,  bur- 
thened  as  it  was  with  a  postal  tax  payable  in  advance, 
and  addressing  itself  to  a  small  scattered  community, 
had  never  repaid  the  expenditure  necessary  to  sustain 
it.    What  means  its  proprietor  had  made  in  trade 

IG 


i 


i\ 


■•::::| 


J     i 


'■' 


I 


122 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


were  soon  dissipated  on  the  literary  speculation. 
Between  maUriel,  and  debts,  and  losses,  the  publisher 
had  been  brought  to  a  dead  stand,  and  was  unable  to 
make  further  way.  In  winding  up  the  mercantile 
business,  many  debts  had  been  left  uncollected  and 
were  still  unpaid.  What  between  purchasing  land 
and  building,  buying  printing  materials  and  carrying 
on  an  unprofitable  publication,  he  had  gone  beyond  the 
compass  of  his  available  capital.  He  was  threatened 
with  prosecution  for  debt.  In  May,  1826,  he  was 
offered  a  loan  of  money  that  would  have  relieved  him; 
but  it  was  only  for  three  months,  and  he  could  not  as- 
sure himself  of  his  ability  to  repay  it  in  that  time.  His 
property,  real  and  personal,  was  worth  twice  the 
amount  of  his  debts;  but  he  was  embarrassed  for 
ready  money ;  threatened  with  capias  by  one  creditor, 
and  thoroughly  disheartened.  From  these  embarrass- 
ments he  resolved  to  free  himself.  With  the  consent 
of  Mr.  Tannahill,  his  principal  creditor,  Mr.  Macken- 
zie went  to  Lewiston,  in  order  to  prevent  the  accumu- 
lation of  law  costs,  till  his  affairs  could  be  settled.  To 
have  continued  the  paper  another  year,  even  if  money 
could  have  been  raised,  would  have  been  absolute 
ruin.  From  Lewiston  he  wrote,  on  the  27th  of  May, 
to  Mr.  Cawthra,  at  York,  proposing  to  place  the 
whole  of  his  property  into  the^hands  of  three  trustees 
to  be  sold;  and  after  the  claims  of  his  creditors  had 
been  satisfied,  the  balance  to  be  handed  over  to  him. 
"The  place  at  Dundas,"  he  wrote,  "you  could  quickly 
dispose  of;  and  that  place  is  the  one  I  am  least  willing 
to  give  away;  but  let  it  go  for  what  it  may  fetch." 
His  enemies  afterwards  pretended  that  he  had  gone 


THE   CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


123 


loney 
olute 
May, 
the 
stees 
had 
him. 
ickly 
lling 
tch." 


gone 


to  Lewiston  for  the  purpose  of  defrauding  his  creditors ; 
but  this  calumny  is  sufficiently  disproved  by  his  letter 
to  Mr.  Cawthra,  and  by  the  fact  that,  while  there,  he 
voluntarily  granted  a  cognovit  covering  the  amount 
of  the  whole  of  the  claims  against  him  by  his  creditors. 
This  was  done  three  days  before  the  destruction  of  the 
printing  office;  and  consequently  before  any  new  reason 
had  arisen  for  his  immediate  return  to  York.  After 
it  was  all  over,  the  creditor,  by  whom  he  had  been 
threatened  with  capias,  confessed,  in  writing,  "  I  have 
not  done  by  you  as  I  would  have  wished."  > 

Besides,  his  health  was  broken;  and  lie  had  some 
time  before  been  thrown  into  a  fever  by  the  vexation 
he  had  suffered.  His  eldest  daughter  had  died,  and 
another  member  of  his  family  was  ill.  Under  these 
circumstances,  it  is  not  surprising  that  he  should  have 
sighed  for  that  repose  which  journalism  had  inter- 
rupted in  the  first  instance,  and  of  which  it  still  con- 
tinued to  prevent  the  return,  ^ut  while  he  loved  re- 
pose, he  had  not  been  able  to  resist  the  excitement  of 
the  semi-public  life  of  the  journalist,  who  already 
dreamed  of  the  overthrow  of  an  administration  and  the 
reform  of  the  oligarchical  system  then  in  operation. 
He  who  repiningly  compared  his  own  toils  to  the 
quiet  life  of  the  farmer  would  sit  up  whole  nights, 
laboring  assiduously  to  accomplish  political  ends. 
Though  he  could  be  a  child  among  his  children,  and 
was  never  so  happy  as  when  he  joined  in  their  play, 
he  would  frequently  sit  up  for  two  consecutive  nights, 
at  the  patient  but  exhausting  labor  of  the  pen.  And 
if  the  pen  be  more  powerful  than  the  sword,  it  is  also, 
in  the  hands  of  the  overworked  journalist,  more  dan- 


mIII'S 


}-^yM 


\Xv.i-     ':h 


1       ; 


124 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


h 


gercms  to  himself  than  is  the  active  use  of  the  sword 
to  the  soldier.    A  fevered  pulse,  an  aching  head,  and 
all  the  long  train  of  horrors  resulting  from  a  disordered 
stomach,  are  hi^  portion.    With  him  life  is  little  else 
than  endurance.    The  strongest  nerves  become  un- 
strung,  and  the  most  powerful  frame  gives  way.    Mr. 
Mackenzie  was  blessed  with  a  constitution,  such  as 
not  one  man  in  ten  thousand  possesses.     It  has  been 
said  of  Lord  Brougham,  that  he  has  been  known  to 
work  for  six  days  and  six  nights  without  ever  going 
to  bed.      At  a  later  period  of  his  life,  this  extraor- 
dinary feat  Mr.  Mackenzie  actually  performed.    On 
the  occasion  of  these  long  vigils,  when  drowsiness 
came   on,   he   would    have   water   poured  upon   his 
head,  and,  thus  roused  up,  take  a  fresh  start.    When 
overtaxed  nature  could  no  longer  be  resisted  he  would 
sleep  a  few  minutes  in  his  chair,  then,  waking,  would 
walk  round  his  room  a  few  times  and  recommence  his 
never-ending  task.     It  is,  or  used  to  be,  thought  a 
great  feat  for  a  man  to  walk  a  thousand  miles  in  a 
thousand  hours.    The  overworked  journalist  has  his 
mile  to  walk  every  hour  of  his  life,  and  when  he 
comes  to  the  end  he  is  in  his  grave !     He  goes  there, 
too,  much  before  his  appointed  time ;  or,  if  all  things 
be  appointed,  it  is  his  lot,  by  a  violent  wear  of  the 
constitution,  to  carve  out  for  himself  an  early  sepul- 
chre.    The  sixty-seven  years  that  he  lived  carried 
Mr.  Mackenzie  almost  to  the  allotted  limit  of  human 
existence,  but  if  his  marvelously  strong  constitution  had 
had  fair-play,  there  must  have  been  fully  twenty  years 
more  wear  in  it.     But  after  all,  the  wonder  is  that  he 
lived  so  long,  when  his  mode  of  life  and  what  he  was 


THE   CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


i2r^ 


called  upon  to  endure  are  considered.  Soon  after  his 
arrival  in  Canada,  he  took  ague  in  Kingston ;  it  went 
with  him  to  Dundas,  and  appeared  with  greater  in- 
tensity after  his  arrival  in  Toronto,  then  called  York. 
To  the  last,  he  was  subject  to  that  modification  of  it 
which  is  known  as  "  dumb  ague."  He  was  subject, 
at  infrequent  intervals,  to  terrible  pains  in  the  head — 
one  of  the  well-known  symptoms  of  over-mental  ex- 
ertion. Of  the  time  previous  to  the  destruction  of  his 
printing  office,  he  has  left  it  on  record :  "  My  health 
had  for  three  or  four  months  been  in  the  most  preca- 
rious state,  and  much  sickness  in  my  family  had  de- 
pressed my  spirits  beyond  any  thing  I  had  ever  felt 
or  endured  before."  In  Queenstown  he  lost  his  eldest 
daughter,  born  at  Dundas,  at  the  age  of  eleven  months; 
and  in  York,  near  the  close  of  1824,  his  second  child, 
born  at  Queenstown ;  also  a  daughter,  died  of  small- 
pox. One  of  the  competing  newspapers  showed  its 
sympathy  by  hinting  that  the  infected  neighborhood 
of  the  rival's  house  and  office  had  better  be  avoided. 
And  the  suggestion  was  not  unheeded ;  for  such  was 
the  terror  of  small-pox  in  those  days,  that  while  it  was 
in  the  house  the  only  stranger  or  neighbor  who  crossed 
the  threshold  was  the  elder  Mr.  David  Patteson,  an 
ironmonger  at  York,  whose  deeply  scarred  face  was 
his  best  security  against  the  danger  of  infection.  The 
condition  of  his  own  health,  as  well  as  domestic 
and  pecuniary  reasons,  made  Mr.  Mackenzie  desir- 
ous that  his  connection  with  the  press  should  cease. 

At  the  time  of  the  destruction  of  his  type  and  press, 
Mr.  Mackenzie  had  a  contract  for  printing  the  jour- 
nals of  the  Legislative  Assembly,  at  the  rate  of  about 


126 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,    AND 


i  . 


six  dollars  a  pago ;  but  whatever  profits  were  mado 
out  of  other  printing  were  swallowed  up  by  the  news- 
paper, or  scattered  over  the  country  in  the  shape  of 
doubtful  debts.  Besides,  he  was  constantly  printing 
for  gratuitous  distribution  political  squibs,  in  various 
shapes  and  forms ;  an  operation  which  did  not  tend 
to  improve  the  state  of  his  excheouer. 

It  often  happens  that  the  influence  of  one  individual 
upon  another,  at  a  critical  period  of  his  life,  shapes 
and  moulds  his  destiny.  Was  Mr.  Mackenzie  sub- 
ject to  any  such  influence?  Perhaps  this  oaestion 
cannot  be  satisfactorily  answered.  While  living  at 
Queenstown,  he  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Robert 
Randal,  a  Virginian  by  birth,  (and  a  near  relative  of 
John  Randolph,  of  Roanoke,)  who  had  come  to  this 
Province  as  a  permanent  settler,  and  was  then  living 
at  Chippewa.  Randal  was  a  pc'iHcian,  and  it  is 
probable  that  his  influence  on  Mr.  Mackenzie  first  led 
him  into  politics.  The  proof  is  not  clear ;  but  Mrs. 
Mackenzie  is  of  that  opinion.  Randal  was  a  man 
who,  with  a  keen  eye  to  the  future,  selected  land  at 
different  places  where  future  towns  were  certain  to 
spring  up.  He  was  entangled  in  law  suits,  involving 
property  to  a  very  large  amount ;  and  in  one  way  or 
another  was  cruelly  victimized.  His  lawyers  played 
him  false,  and  the  officers  of  the  law  conspired  to  de- 
fraud him.  He  became  involved  in  pecuniary  em- 
barrassments, and  was  charged  with  perjury  for 
swearing  to  a  qualification  which,  based  on  a  long  list 
of  properties  the  ownership  of  some  of  which  litiga- 
tion had  rendered  doubtful,  was  declared  to  be  bad. 
Mr.  Mackenzie  took  his  part;  they  continued  to  be 


THE  CANADIAN   HEBELLION. 


127 


firm  friends,  and  when  Randall  died  ho  bequeathed  a 
share  of  his  property  to  the  man  who  had  in  some 
sort  been  his  protector.  The  connection  produced  its 
effect  upon  Mr.  Mackenzie  for  life.  Long  before 
Randall's  death,  Mackenzie  had  embraced  iiis  ([uar- 
rols,  and  made  them  his  own.  They  were  afterwards 
to  become  his  inheritance;  and  they  were  well  calcu- 
lated to  assist  in  embittering  the  existence  of  one  of 
his  keen  susceptibility. 

In  the  spring  of  1827,  Mackenzie  raised  the  question 
of  sending  to  England  an  agent  to  plead  with  the  British 
Government  the  cause  of  the  American-born  aliens,  in 
Canada.  A  petition,  said  to  have  been  signed  by  lifteen 
thousand  persons,  was  ready  to  be  carried  to  England. 
A  central  committee,  charged  with  the  protection  of 
the  rights  of  the  aliens,  met  at  Mr.  Mackenzie's  house, 
and  he  acted  as  its  confidential  secretary.  Mr.  Foth- 
ergill,  who  had  taken  the  popular  side  on  the  Alien 
question,  and  been  dismissed  from  the  office  of  King's 
printer,  desired  the  mission.  The  central  committee 
offered  it  to  Dr.  Rolph,  who  declined  acceptance.  The 
question  was  then  between  Fothergill  and  Randall ; 
Mackenzie,  favoring  the  appointment  of  the  latter, 
carried  his  point.  Randall  was  in  the  position  of  the 
persons  whose  cause  he  had  to  plead.  On  behalf  of 
the  committee,  the  delegate's  instructions  were  drawn 
up  by  Mr.  Mackenzie ;  and  the  committee  having  ad- 
vanced a  sum  for  his  expenses,*  part  of  which  had 

•  Mackenzie  mnkes  "  Tom  Moore,  jr.,"  say : — "Among  the  numerous  petitions 
against  the  Alien  BiU,  we  observed  one  from  the  head  of  the  lake,  signed  at 
Flambro'  west,  by  upwards  of  100  individuals,  owning  property  equal  to  nt  least 
$200,000  value.  Among  this  opulent  portion  of  the  people  we  are  credibly 
informed  that  a  sum  equal  to  $20  was  raised  in  aid  o^  a  mission  to  England. 


¥ 


•*!  IHnli 
1  IBIm 


it'iiiUl 


128 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


been  raised  by  subscription,  Randall  set  off  for  Lon- 
don, in  the  month  of  March.  •     ■ 

In  order  to  smooth  the  way  for  the  delegate  in 
England,  Mr.  Mackenzie  addressed  letters  to  the  Earl 
of  Dalhousie,  Governor-in-chief,  surcharged  with  ex- 
pressions of  loyalty,  and  recommending  colonial  rep- 
resentation in  the  Imperial  Parliament.  It  is  worthy 
of  note  that  the  first  of  these  letters  contains  several 
extracts  from  American  authorities  predicting  a  dis- 
solution of  the  Federal  Union.  After  giving  these 
extracts,  the  writer  asks :  "  And  is  this  the  govern- 
ment, and  are  these  the  people  whose  alliance  and 
intimacy  we  ought  to  court  instead  of  those  of  Eng- 
land? No,  my  lord;  their  constitutional  theory  is 
defective,  and  their  practice  necessarily  inconsistent. 
Their  government  wants  consolidation ;  let  us  take 
warning  by  their  example."  Mr.  Mackenzie  after- 
wards expressed  the  opinion  that  these  letters,  taken 
as  a  guarantee  for  the  loyalty  of  the  opposition,  ma- 
terially assisted  Randall's  exertions  in  England.  A 
few  weeks  later,  he  was  writing  about  the  "  glorious 
opportunity  of  England  to  recover  her  most  ancient 
and  valuable  colonies  by  simply  giving  the  remaining 
Provinces  a  voice  in  her  national  councils." 

There  were  in  the  Province  a  large  number  of  per- 

That  is  to  say,  they  gave  a  shilling  apiece,  or  a  ten-thousandth  part  to  save  the 
rest !  ,  ,         ' 

"To  keep  the  cause  of  liberty  j  ,  ,• 

In  Italy  afloat, 
lUustriouH  Bennet'i  generous  band  ' 

8ubicribed  a  one  pound  note  t 

To  keep  the  cause  of  liberty  " 

In  Canada  from  failing, 
iFhe  patriots  about  Dundoi 
'  Qare  each  a  Dublin  shilling  I** 


THK   CANADIAN    REBELLION. 


129 


sons,  who,  though  born  in  British  Colonies,  had,  by 
the  progress  of  events,  and  the  effect  of  laws  result- 
in''  from  those  events,  lost  the  legal  quality  and  pri- 
vileges of  British  subjects.  All  who  were  born  in  the 
old  American  Colonies,  and  had  continued  to  live  there 
till  after  the  peace  of  1783,  became,  on  the  3d  of  Sep- 
tember of  that  year,  by  tho  Treaty  of  Independence, 
citi/ons  of  the  United  States.  They,  therefore,  by 
that  fact,  ceased  to  be  British  subjects.  Both  Amer- 
ican and  English  law  courts  agreed  as  to  tho  effect  of 
the  treaty  upon  the  nationality  of  those  who  resided 
in  tho  United  States,  at  the  peace  of  1783.  Of  those 
who  came  to  Canada,  after  that  date,  many  had  ad- 
hered to  the  British  standard  through  the  revolutionary 
war ;  but  among  these  immigrants  there  were  doubt- 
less many  others  who  had  not.  - 

The  laws  relating  to  aliens  were  stretched  so  as  to 
cover  a  class  of  persons  they  could  never  have  been  in- 
tended to  affect.  A  person  born  in  England,  or  Ireland, 
or  Scotland,  who  came  to  Canada  through  the  United 
States,  was  held  to  have  lost  the  character  of  a  British 
subject  on  tho  way,  and  to  bo  incapable  of  exercising 
the  elective  franchise  till  he  had  been  seven  years  in  the 
country ;  as  if  the  mere  touch  of  United  States  soil 
had  the  magic  power  to  divest  an  Englishman  of  his 
nationality,  the  reintegration  of  which  was  only  to  be 
obtained  by  a  seven  years'  probation.  Robert  Gour- 
lay,  a  Scotchman  by  birth,  was  charged  under  the 
Sedition  Act  with  not  having  been  six  months  in  the 
country,  nor  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance. 

Persons  who  had  made  immense  sacrifices  by  ad- 
hering to  the  British  standard  during  the  revolution- 


Ill 


1'^ 


f    .    1 


11 


I 
I 


17 


i. 


I  M 


li 


i 


I    > 


li    : 


i 


il 


130 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,    AND 


ary  war,  lost,  in  some  cases,  large  amounts  of  property, 
in  consequence  )f  their  inability  to  inherit  as  British 
subjects.  The  case  of  Elizabeth  Ludlow,  niece  of  a 
Chief  Justice  of  New  Brunswick,  had  just  been  de- 
cided adversely  in  the  English  courts,  on  the  ground 
that  her  father  had  resided  in  the  United  States,  after 
the  Treaty  of  Independence  was  ratified ;  and  though 
the  whole  family  had  made  great  sacrifices  for  the 
British  cause,  she  was  declared  incapable  of  inheriting 
the  property  in  dispute.  A  large  number  of  Amer- 
icans, whose  ancestors  had  taken  sides — some  one,  some 
the  other — in  that  contest,  were  then  residents  in  the 
Province.  Most  of  them  were  possessors  of  land ;  and 
their  rights  were  never  challenged  or  brought  in  ques- 
tion till  after  the  close  of  the  war  of  1812,  when, 
under  the  presidency  of  Sir  Gordon  Drummond,  a 
proclamation  was  issued  with  the  view  of  putting  a 
stop  to  the  immigration  of  American  citizens  into  Ca- 
nada. The  effect  of  a  possible  political  propagandisra, 
exercised  through  the  medium  of  these  immigrants, 
appears  to  have  been  feared.  It  is  doubtful,  however, 
whether  this  proclamation  had  legal  ground  to  rest 
upon.  Lieiitenant  Governor  Gore,  who  succeeded  Sir 
Gordon,  thought  it  had  not,  and  that  Americans  were 
entitled  still,  not  only  to  come  and  settle  in  Canada, 
but  also  to  receive  such  modified  naturalization  as  the 
English  laws  had  sanctioned.  By  a  British  statute 
passed  in  1790,  a  seven  years'  residence,  the  taking  of 
the  oath  of  allegiance  and  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  according  to  the  usages  of  the  Protestant 
Church,  and  observing  other  formalities,  all  aliens  who 
came   to  the  colonies  could  acquire   the  rights  of 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


131 


Britisli  subjects,  with  certain  reservations.  '  But  they 
could  not  become  members  of  the  Privy  Council  or 
of  Parliament;*  they  were  incapacitated  from  hold- 
ing any  position  of  trust,  civil  or  military,  in  the 
United  Kingdom  or  Ireland ;  and  they  could  not  ac- 
cept of  any  grant  of  land  from  the  crown.  The  pro- 
visions of  this  statute  were  hardly  ever  complied  with 
by  alien  emigrants  from  the  United  States.  No  dis- 
tinction was  made  or  could  be  made  between  the  ab- 
sconding debtor  who  had  fled  from  the  United  States 
to  defraud  his  creditors,  and  the  loyalist,  who,  ad- 
hering to  the  fortunes  of  the  British  crown  during  the 
revolutionary  war,  had  not  left  that  country  till  after 
the  peace  of  1783,  when,  in  spite  of  himself,  the 
treaty  made  him  an  American  citizen.  Men  whose 
industry  had  cleared  the  country  of  forests,  who  had 
carried  civilization  into  the  wilds  of  the  west,  and  as- 
sisted to  repel  invasion,  found  themselves  aliens,  with- 
out any  legal  security  for  their  property. 

Whatever  might  be  the  effect  of  a  narrow  or  rigid 
construction  of  the  Alien  Law  upon  these  persons, 
they  had  not  hitherto  received  the  treatment  of  aliens. 
They  had  received  grants  of  land  from  the  crown  and 
aevised  real  property  ;  some  of  them  had  held  offices 
of  trust  in  the  militia,  and  spilt  their  blood  in  defence 
of  the  country,  in  which  they  were  now  to  be  denied 
the  rights  of  citizens,  except  upon  conditions  which 
they  regarded  as  degrading.  It  was  not  to  be  ex- 
pected that  a  man  who  had  fought  beside  the  gallant 
Brock  would  feel    complimented  if   asked   to  take 

*  In  May,  1826,  an  Imperial  Act  was  passed  to  render  naturalized  foreign- 
era  capable  of  sitting  in  the  Legislature  of  Upper  Canada. 


It 


132 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


1:ii. 


the  oath  of  allegiance.  The  recent  decision  of  the 
Court  of  King's  Bench,  in  England,  in  the  Ludlow 
case,  created  uneasiness,  alarm,  and  indignation.  After 
much  correspondence  with  the  Lieutenant  Governors 
on  the  subject,  the  Imperial  Government  sent  instruc- 
tions to  Sir  Perigrine  Maitland  to  cause  a  bill  to  be  in- 
troduced into  the  Legislature,  by  which  all  the  rights 
of  British  subjects  could  be  conferred  upon  the  aliens  in 
the  Province.  The  bill  passed  the  Legislative  Council, 
whose  members  owed  their  nomination  to  the  crown, 
in  the  session  of  1826 ;  and  when  it  was  sent  down  to 
the  Assembly,  it  met  an  equal  amount  of  opposition 
and  support,  on  two  several  divisions.  The  House 
was  equally  divided  for  a  whole  week ;  and  the  bill, 
after  being  five  times  negatived  by  the  casting  vote  of 
the  Speaker,  was  at  length  irregularly  passed.  Though 
the  division  of  numbers  was  so  long  equal,  the  ma- 
jority of  the  members  who  spoke  opposed  those  pro- 
visions which  required  all  persons,  placed  in  the 
category  of  aliens  by  the  recent  judicial  decision,  to 
remedy  their  former  neglect  by  complying  with  certain 
prescribed  formalities ;  a  residence  of  seven  years  and 
the  taking  of  the  oath  of  allegiance  being  necessary 
to  confer  on  them  those  rights  which  many  of  them  had 
from  the  first,  exercised  without  question.  Whatever 
may  have  been  the  merits  or  demerits  of  this  mea- 
sure, it  is  proper  to  quote  the  declaration  of  Mr.  Wil- 
mot  Horton,  then  under-Secretary  of  State  for  the 
Colonies,  that  the  "  Lieutenant  Governor  and  Legisla- 
tive Council  of  Upper  Canada  cannot  be  considered  re- 
sponsible for  those  parts  of  the  present  bill  which  have 
excited  the  most  earnest  opposition.    Lord  Bathurst's 


rm.i 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


133 


instructions  to  the  Lieutenant-Grovernor,  founded,  as 
they  were,  upon  his  Lordship's  impression  that  the 
measure  proposed  would  be  satisfactory,  were  peremp- 
tory, and  left  the  local  Governor  no  discretion  on  the 
subject."  At  the  same  time,  it  is  pretty  certain  that 
Lord  Bathurst's  impression  must  have  been  derived 
from  the  official  information  he  received  from  Canada. 
The  Imperial  Government  showed  by  their  subsequent 
action  that  they  were  anxious  to  do  what  would  give 
full  satisfaction  to  the  people,  whose  rights  were  in 
question. 

Mr.  Bidwell,  whose  father  when  elected  for  Lennox 
and  Addington,  in  1822,  had  been  declared  ineligible 
to  take  his  seat  in  the  Legislative  Assembly,  on  ac- 
count of  his  being  an  alien,  proposed  as  an  alterna- 
tive measure  to  declare  all  Americans  then  in  the 
Province  entitled  to  all  the  rights  of  British  subjects. 
The  real  hardship  was  in  confounding  two  distinct 
classes:  persons  who  were  born  British  subjects,  or 
whose  fathers  had  been  born  British  subjects,  and  who, 
so  far  from  having  done  any  thing  to  forfeit  that  cha- 
racter, had  throughout  been  true  to  their  allegiance, 
with  others  who  had  come  to  the  Province  not  from 
political  choice,  but  because  they  found  emigration 
convenient,  or  thought  it  would  be  profitable.  Among 
the  latter  there  were  some  who  were  anxious  to  enjoy 
all  the  rights  of  British  subjects  without  taking  the 
oath  of  allegiance,  and  who  considered  it  a  glorious 
diversion  to  cross  the  frontier  line  to  enjoy  the  de- 
monstrations that  take  place  on  the  anniversary  of 
American  independence.  If  it  was  desirable  that 
these  persons  should  submit  to  a  formal  act  of  natur- 


if 


'i '  ^t  i 


'\'"'\ 


f  'I 


\/- 


.(,  - 


134 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


*!■ : 


alization,  it  was  impossible  to  distinguish  between 
them  and  others,  who,  having  been  born  British  sub- 
jects, had  never  desired  to  relinquish  their  allegiance 
And  here  arose  the  real  difficulty  of  the  case.  ^''' 

The  bill  passed  by  the  Legislature  was  of  that  na- 
ture which  rendered  necessary  its  reservation  for  the 
signification  of  the  Royal  pleasure.  To  prevent  the 
Royal  assent  being  given  to  it,  Randal  had  been  se- 
lected to  bear  the  petition  of  some  thousands  of  the 
persons  whom  it  affected.  His  success  was  complete. 
The  committee  from  whom  he  received  his  instruc- 
tions consisted  of  Messrs.  Jesse  Ketchum,  Alexander 
Burnside,  Joseph  Shepherd,  and  Thomas  Stoyell. 
Messrs.  Hume  and  Warburton  rendered  him  every 
assistance  in  their  power,  and  Lord  Goderich  showed 
the  most  anxious  desire  to  meet  the  wishes  of  the 
petitioners.  Another  bill,  framed  in  conformity  with 
the  Royal  instructions,  which  Mr.  Randal's  exertions 
had  procured,  was  introduced,  into  the  Upper  Canada 
Assen^bly,  by  Mr.  Bidwell,  a  prominent  member  of 
the  opposition.  It  invested  with  the  quality  of  Bri- 
tish subjects  all  residents  of  the  Province  who  had 
received  grants  of  land  from  the  crown,  or  held  public 
office,  as  well  as  their  children  and  remote  descend- 
ants; all  settled  residents  who  had  taken  up  their 
abode  before  the  year  1820,  their  descendants  to  have 
the  right  to  inherit  in  case  the  parents  were  dead ;  all 
persons  resident  in  the  Province  on  the  1st  March, 
1828,  on  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance  after  seven 
years'  residence  in  some  part  of  His  Majesty's  domi- 
nions. If  these  persons  had  resided  seven  years  in 
the  Province,  they  would  at  the  age  of  nineteen  be 


THE  CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


135 


entitled  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  at  any  time 
within  three  years.  It  was  also  provided  that  no  per- 
son of  the  age  of  sixteen,  on  the  26th  of  May,  1826, 
should  be  debarred  from  inheriting  property  on  ac- 
count c^  its  descent  from  an  alien,  and  any  person 
claiming  to  hold  property  on  account  of  those  nearer 
akin,  being  aliens,  must  have  had  actual  possession 
and  made  improvements  on  the  property  before  that 
date ;  a  contract  for  the  sale  of  property  so  held  to  be 
valid,  if  there  had  been  no  adverse  possession. 

The  bill  passed  the  Assembly  with  only  such  feeble  op- 
position as  the  official  party  and  their  friends  ventured 
to  offer  in  the  way  of  amendments.  Their  chagrin  ap- 
pears to  have  been  shared  by  the  Lieutenant  Governor, 
who,  in  his  reply  to  the  Assembly's  address  informing 
him  that  they  had  passed  the  bill,  petulantly  threat- 
ened to  tell  the  Colonial  Secretary  that  it  was  pre- 
cisely such  a  measure  as  the  House  had  rejected  in 
the  second  session  of  that  Parliament.  The  House, 
without  any  such  direct  reference  to  the  Lieutenant 
Governor  as  would  have  been  unparliamentary,  flatly 
denied  this  statement  in  the  first  of  a  series  of  reso- 
lutions, in  which  reasons  for  rejecting  the  Alien  Bill 
in  the  second  session  were  given.  These  resolutions, 
eight  in  number,  were  severally  carried  against  the  go- 
vernment by  about  two  to  one;  audit  became  the  duty 
of  the  Lieutenant  Governor  to  transmit  them  to  Eng- 
land. It  was,  no  doubt,  true  that  the  bill  passed  was 
some  modification  of  the  simple  declaratory  measure 
with  which  the  opposition  had  proposed  to  cover  the 
whole  case  in  the  preceding  session.  The  compromise, 
for  such  it  must  be  called,  was  probably  the  best  that 


:i!r 


':H-;' 


I 


11  f 


136 


LIFE   OF    MACKENZIE,  AND 


could  have  been  devised.  It  shared  the  fate  of  all 
compromises,  in  meeting  the  opposition  of  a  few  ex- 
treme persons.  The  Legislative  Councils  altered  the 
preamble,  and  amended  the  bill  so  as  to  prevent  it 
repealing  any  statute  then  in  force.  The  Legislative 
Assembly,  after  a  little  grumbling  on  the  part  of  two 
or  three  members,  accepted  the  amendments  unani- 
mously.       '  ,  *    , 

The  appeal  so  successfully  made  to  the  Imperial 
Government,  was  suggested  by  Mr.  Mackenzie ;  and 
it  was  he  who  got  up  the  Committee,  which  decided  to 
send  an  agent.  He  drew  up  Randal's  instructions, 
and  caused  him  to  be  selected  in  preference  to  another. 

It  often  happens  that  some  particular  event  pro- 
duces upon  the  minds  of  even  clever  men  impressions 
which,  though  not  altogether  well  grounded,  they 
never  get  rid  of  as  long  as  they  live.  The  success  of 
Randal's  mission  to  England  had  this  effect  upon  Mr. 
Mackenzie ;  for,  ever  after,  except  a  few  years  about 
the  period  of  the  rebellion,  he  believed  in  the  specific 
of  an  appeal  to  the  Imperial  Government.  His  own 
subsequent  visit  to  the  Colonial  office,  and  the  success 
he  met,  confirmed  an  opinion  which  he  cherished  to 
the  day  of  his  death.  Appeal  from  the  oligarchy  to 
the  justice  of  the  Imperial  Government  seemed  atone 
time  the  only  hope  of  the  colonists,  until  the  local 
Excutive  could  be  made  responsible  to  the  popular 
branch  of  the  Legislature;  but  after  the  change 
wrought  by  the  introduction  of  responsible  govern- 
ment, Mr.  Mackenzie  failed  to  make  sufficient  allow- 
ance for  the  new  state  of  things.         ^  -,    - 


'.1 


THF   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


137 


r. 


C:      S 


t      .. 


CHAPTER  IX.  ^ 

Mr.  Mackenzie  conceives  the  idea  of  Publishing  a  Daily  Paper  in  Montreal 
— "Printer  to  the  Hon.  House  of  Assembly" — Not  a  Sure  Partisan — His 
Estimate  of  the  Intelligence  of  the  Assembly  in  1827 — Irresponsible  Govern- 
ment— Union  of  Legislative  and  Judicial  Functions — Colonial  Representa- 
tion in  the  Imperial  Parliumer.t. 

In  May,  1827,  Mr.  Mackenzie  visited  Montreal, 
with  a  view  of  ascertaining,  from  the  information  he 
could  collect  on  the  spot,  whether  it  would  be  advisable 
to  commence  the  publication  of  a  daily  paper  there. 
An  examination  of  the  ground  convinced  him  that  the 
speculation  would  not  answer  commercially;  and  he 
returned  to  York,  resolving  not  to  enter  on  the  doubt- 
ful experiment.*  From  the  25th  of  January,  1827,  to 
the  10th  of  January,  1828,  the  imprint  of  The  Colonial 

*  A  few  months  afterwards — November,  1827 — he  gave  an  account  of  the 
Periodical  Press  of  Montreal.  The  Herald  printing  office  was  then  the  most  con- 
siderable in  the  British  Colonies.  There  were,  besides,  the  Montreal  Gazette 
and  Herald,  the  Courani,  the  Canadian  Spectator,  La  Minerve,  with  very  limited 
circulations — ra  my  farmers  both  in  Upper  and  Lower  Canada  then  receiving 
their  intelligence  of  current  events  from  oral  information — the  Chriitian  Sen^ 
iinel,  a  church  of  England  journal,  circulating  six  hundred  copies  a  week. 
The  Quarterly  Review  had  recentlj'  died  for  want  of  support ;  and  a  new  Colo- 
nial Magazine  had  obtained  twenty-one  subscribers.  The  Quebec  Gazette  was 
the  only  paper  in  Lower  Canada  distinguished  for  the  attention  it  paid  to  com- 
inorcial  aflFairs.  Mr.  Mackenzie  described  it  as  occupying,  in  Canada,  the  po- 
sition that  the  7Vm«s  occupied  in  England,  as  the  organ  of  the  most  respectable 
class  of  the  population.     A  wonderful  revolution  in  journalism  has  taken  placo 

since  then. 
18 


if  ;;!'■< 


f'rr 


Uiiil 


138 


LIFE   OF    MACKENZIE,    AND 


111 


Advocate  described  the  paper  as  being  "Printed  and 
Published  by  W.  L.  Mackenzie,  Printer  to  the  Hon., 
the  House  of  Assembly  of  Upper  Canada."  The  con- 
tract was  for  the  whole  of  the  printing  required  by  the 
House;  and  so  low  was  the  price  that  it  does  not  ap- 
pear to  have  been  profitable.  He  preferred  a  claim 
for  £25  extra,  on  account  of  the  unusual  expedition 
required  by  the  House  ;*  and  although  the  extra  sum 
he  had  paid  to  printers  was  larger  than  this,  the  claim 
was  refused. 

At  no  time  does  Mr.  Mackenzie  appear  to  have 
been  a  very  strong  partisan.  ISTot  that  his  views  and 
position  were  not  decided.    He  was  strongly  opposed 


*  In  a  letter  to  Mr.  H.  C.  Thompson,  of  tho  Printing  Committee,  dated 
January  15,  1828,  Mr.  Mackenzie  said: 

"  Last  session,  Mr.  Carey  received  for  work  done  to  the  Legislative  Conncil 
nearly  at  the  rate  of  3a.  3rf.,  and  for  work  done  for  the  Assembly  3«.;  Mr.  Stan- 
ton received  3a.  for  some,  and  4a.  from  the  government  for  the  rest,  and 
offered  to  do  more  for  2a.  I  had  some  at  3a.,  some  at  la.  %d.,  and  some  at  1«. 
per  one  thousand  ems.  Such  a  system  is  surely  absurd  and  unjust.  It  is  not 
my  intention  to  ask  for  one  farthing  more  than  my  one  shilling  contract ;  if 
the  House  are  anxious  to  got  their  work  done  at  an  **fair  price,  and  to  give 
nobody  but  your  brother-in-law  (Mr.  Stanton,  the  King's  Printer)  even  jour- 
neyman's wages,  I  will  not  selfishly  complain — but  I  wish  very  much  their 
'•saving  fit"  would  become  more  general  in  its  operation.  There  is  a  law 
maxim  which  runs  thus:  •X«r  nemin^n  eogit  ad  impoasibilia' — the  law  compels 
no  man  to  perform  impossibilities; — und  upon  this  principle  I  claimed  the 
other  £25  only,  not  of  additional  price,  but  for  double  allowance  made  and 
promised  my  people  t(  ^"et  forward  expeditiously  with  the  accumulated  print- 
ing of  the  House,  at  hours  when  they  should  have  been  in  bed.  This  claim 
was  supported  by  three  affidavits,  setting  forth  the  fact  that  such  extra  work 
had  been  done,  and  that  without  working  almost  continually,  all  the  hands  in 
the  office  (ten  or  eleven)  could  not  have  done  the  printing  in  time — for  we 
w^ere  often  obliged  to  leave  off  one  job  and  begin  a  second,  or  even  a  third,  in 
order  to  meet  the  new  orders  of  the  clerk."  The  letter  concluded  with  an 
offer  to  do  the  sessional  work  of  the  House  for  1828,  at  twenty  cents  per  one 
thousand  ems  composition.  He  also  suggested  a  division  of  the  work  at  fair 
prices ;  and  this  suggestion  was  acted  upon,  three  printers  being  included. 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


139 


to  the  ruling  minority;  but  he  was  very  far  from 
having  unbounded  confidence  in  the  majority  of  the 
Assembl3^  Of  the  leaders  of  the  opposition,  Messrs. 
Rolph  and  Bidwell,  he  sometimes  spoke  in  sharp  terms 
of  condemnation ;  showing  that  he  was  under  no  sort 
of  party  control  or  leadership.  When  reminded  by 
one  of  his  own  political  friends  in  the  House  that  cer- 
tain petitions  laid  before  the  Legislature  were  not 
privileged  communications;  that  an  action  for  libel 
would  lie,  if  they  contained  what  the  law  regarded  as 
libellous  matter,  and  were  reprinted  in  a  newspaper; 
his  reply  was,  that  he  intended  to  publish  both  the 
petitions  in  question  in  the  next  number  of  his  paper, 
a  promise  which  was  faithfully  kept.  >  ,;    i< 

Before  the  commencement  of  1828,  Mr.  Mackenzie 
was  a  declared  candidate  for  a  seat  in  the  next  House 
of  Assembly ;  and  it  is  not  impossible  that  he  already 
aimed  at  attaining  to  the  leadership  himself.  Speak- 
ing of  this  House  as  a  body,  in  a  letter  to  Earl  Dal- 
housie,  he  said:  "Many  of  these  Legislators  are  quali- 
fied to  sign  their  names;  but  as  to  framing  and  carry- 
ing through  a  bill  on  any  subject  whatever,  the  half 
of  them  wisely  never  attempted  such  a  herculean 
task."  And  in  the  same  letter,  he  expressed  undis- 
guised contempt  for  the  whole  sham  of  Colonial  Legis- 
latures then  in  vogue.  "I  have  long  been  satisfied," 
he  said,  "  that  if  the  North  American  Colonies  were 
rid  of  these  inferior  and  subordinate  Legislatures, 
which  are  and  must  ever  be  insufficient  for  the  pur- 
poses for  which  they  were  intended;  and  allowed, 
instead,  a  due  weight  in  both  branches  of  the  British 
Parliament,  it  would  prove  the  foundation  of  their 


'  1.1 


I 


140 


J^lFE  OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


.1 


1 


W' 


m 


•I 


permanent  and  true  happiness."  The  difficulty  wa8 
that  these  representative  assemblies  were  mocked 
with  a  semblance  of  that  legislative  power,  with  the 
substantial  possession  of  which  they  were  never  en- 
dowed. Even  the  Reformers  had  only  an  imperfect 
conception  of  the  true  remedy.  The  ministry  might 
be  subjected  to  a  succession  of  defeats  in  the  Legisla- 
tive Assembly  without  raising  a  question  of  resigna- 
tion; and  the  liberal  journals  very  seldom  undertook 
to  deal  with  the  question  of  ministerial  responsibility. 
Mr.  Mackenzie  was  the  "advocate  of  such  a  change  in 
the  mode  of  administering  the  government  as  would 
give  the  people  an  effectual  control  over  the  actions 
of  their  representatives,  and  through  them  over  the 
actions  of  the  Executive."*  Most  of  those  who  essayed 
to  effect  reforms,  contented  themselves  with  encounter- 
ing abuses  in  detail;  a  mode  of  warfare  which  left 
untouched  a  radically  defective  system  of  administra- 
tion. 

When  we  look  back  upon  the  system  that  existed, 
the  mind  is  filled  with  astonishment  that  it  should 
have  enjoyed  such  comparative  immunity  from  attack. 
A  party  triumph  at  the  polls  carried  hardly  any  of 
the  advantages  of  victory  into  the  Legislature.  The 
members  of  the  Executive  belonged  to  the  minority. 
The  majority  might  pass  bills  in  the  Assembly;  but, 
unless  they  pleased  the  ruling  party,  they  were  re- 
jected by  the  crown-nominated  chamber.  There  was 
no  general  separation  of  legislative  and  judicial  func- 


*  Advocate,  January  10,  1828. — These  sentiments  he  claimed  to  have  enun- 
ciated in  the  first  number  of  his  paper  ;  but  if  so,  the  utterance  was  not  very 
distinct. 


THE  CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


141 


tions ;  and  when  the  Assembly,  in  1826,  addressed  the 
Imporial  Government  to  remove  the  Chief  Justice 
from  the  sphere  of  politics,  the  answer  was  that  the 
Lieutenant-Governor  had  profited  greatly  by  his  ad- 
vice, and  that  there  was  nothing  in  the  circumstances 
of  the  colony  to  render  a  change  of  system  desirable. 
The  Judiciary  a' id  the  members  of  the  Executive  re- 
ceived their  appointments  and  the  greater  part  of  their 
pay  from  revenues  belonging  to  England,  on  which 
they  were  largely  dependent.  When  the  House  pre- 
sented an  address  to  the  King,  praying  that  the 
bounty  lands  which  had  been  withheld  from  those 
officers  of  the  militia  who  attended  a  convention  on  the 
grievances  of  the  colony  in  1818,  Governor  Maitland, 
by  the  command  of  His  Majesty,  replied,  that  when 
they  expressed  "deep  contrition"  for  presuming  to  ask 
for  a  redress  of  grievances,  the  lands  would  be  granted 
to  these  erring  militia-men  of  1812.  The  system  re- 
acted upon  itself;  the  bad  advice  sent  by  irresponsible 
ministers  from  this  side  came  back  across  the  Atlantic 
matured  into  the  commands  of  the  Sovereign ;  and  the 
name  and  the  authority  of  England  suifered,  while 
the  real  culprits  escaped  the  merited  punishment  of 
ejection  from  office  by  the  votes  of  a  majority  of  the 
people's  representatives. 

It  is  not  surprising,  under  these  circumstances,  that 
a  scheme  so  impracticable  as  Colonial  representation 
in  the  Imperial  Parliament  should  have  been  turned 
to,  in  despair,  by  Mr.  Mackenzie.  A  union  of  the 
colonies,  which  he  had  often  advocated,  would  have 
necessitated  a  change  of  system  if  it  was  to  be  an  ef- 


11 

i       i\  1 

1:  '^   iU.: 

142 


LIFE   OF    MACKKNZIK,  AND 


fective  remedy  for  the  glaring  defects  of  administra- 
tion which  then  exiated.  < 
In  the  commcncoment  of  1828,  while  advocating  a 
reaponsiblo  Executive,  Mr.  Mackenzie  disclaimed  all 
"  intention  or  desire  to  assist  in  cutting  any  colony 
adrift  from  its  parent  state."  lie  confesses,  how- 
ever, that  his  proposal  for  representation  in  the  Im- 
perial Parliament  had  not  met  universal  reprobation. 
The  ruling  faction  desired  to  have  things  their  own 
way ;  and  so  comfortable  were  existing  arrangements 
that  they  were  afraid  of  the  effects  of  a  change.  The 
people  were  unfortunately  becoming  suspicious  of  the 
external  influence  that  sustained  the  oligarchy ;  and 
were  wisely  disinclined  to  listen  to  a  scheme  of  repre- 
sentation in  a  distant  Parliament,  where  their  feeble 
voice  must  uuve  been  drowned  in  the  clangor  of  over 
six  hundred  representatives. 


THE    CANADIAN    KKBKLLION. 


>-*». 


143 


CHAPTER  X. 

Mftokcnzio  becomes  a  Candidate  for  the  Legislative  Assembly — "Parliament- 
ary black  List" — Improvement  in  his  Pecuniary  CircumHtances — His  Elec- 
tion— Complexion  of  the  New  House — Mr.  (afterwards  Sir)  Allan  McNub  is 
declared  Guilty  of  a  Breach  of  Privilege,  and  on  motion  of  Mackenzie  sent  to 
Jail — Mr.  J.  U.  Boulton  Koprimanded  for  a  like  oflence — Mr.  Mackenzie, 
as  Chairman  of  a  Committee  on  the  Post-offlce,  recommends  that  the  De- 
partment bo  placed  under  Provincial  Confr  —His  action  as  Chairman  on 
Privileges — The  Chaplain  of  the  House — 'I  Ae  Government  Pecuniarily  Inde- 
pendent of  the  Assembly — The  Public  Debt  and  overdue  Debentures  unpaid 
— Jluckenzie  contends  that  all  the  Provincial  Revenues  should  be  placed 
under  the  Control  of  the  Legislature — Resolutions  on  the  State  of  the 
Province — Sir  J.  Colborno  does  not  meet  the  Expectations  formed  by  hira 
— Specimen  of  Mackenzie's  Oratorical  Powers.  '  ,       , 

Having  once  resolved  to  seek  a  seat  in  the  Legis- 
lature of  his  adopted  country,  Mr.  Mackenzie  waited 
for  no  deputations  to  solicit  him  to  become  a  candi- 
date ;  he  submitted  his  claims  to  no  clique  of  election 
managers,  and  heeded  not  their  voluntary  resolves. 
Months  before  the  election  was  to  take  place,  he  issued 
an  address*  to  the  electors  of  the  County  of  York,  not 

*"To  THE  KLBCTORS  OF  THE  COUNTY  OF  YORK. — OentUmeti : — I  have  the 
honor  to  inform  you  that  it  is  my  intention  to  come  forward  as  a  candidate 
at  the  next  Election  of  Members  to  serve  for  your  County  in  the  Provincial 
Parliament ;  and  I  most  respectfully  solicit  your  votes  and  support. 

"  I  have  no  end  in  view  but  the  well  being  of  the  people  at  large — no  ambi- 
tion to  servo  but  that  of  contributing  to  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  our 
common  country.  The  influence  and  authority  with  which  you  may  invest 
me,  shall  always  be  directed,  according  to  tbo  best  of  my  judgment,  for  the 


'1 1 


-« 


144 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


very  prolific  in  promises ;  containing  nothing  that 
would  make  more  than  a  very  meagre  modern  ''  plat- 
form ;"  yet  it  was  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  people  to 
whom  it  was  addressed. 

Mr.  James  E.  Small  was  not  connected  with  the 
government ;  but  he  belonged  to  one  of  the  "  old  fam- 
ilies" of  York.     He  had  been  Mr.  Mackenzie's  solici- 


gencral  good ;  and  it  will  be  my  caro  to  uphold  your  rights  to  the  utmost  of 
my  power,  with  that  firmness,  moderation,  and  perseverance,  which  become  the 
representative  of  a  free  people. 

"If  honored  with  your  suffrages,  it  will  be  alike  my  duty  and  my  pleasure 
to  watch  over  the  local  interests  of  this  great  county,  and  to  promote  every 
public  improvement  and  useful  undertaking,  which  shall  be  found  conducive 
to  your  prosperity  and  the  general  welfare. 

"I  have  ever  been  opposed  to  ecclesiastical  domination  ;  it  is  at  enmity  with 
the  free  spirit  of  Christianity;  and  nations  which  have  bowed  to  its  yoke,  are 
become  the  dark  abodes  of  ignorance  and  superstition,  oppression,  and  misery. 

"Tbat  corrupt,  powerful,  and  long  endured  influence  which  has  hitherto 
interfered  with  your  rights  and  liberties,  can  only  be  overthrown  by  your 
unanimity  and  zeal.  An  independent  House  of  Assembly,  '.v  '"^pper  Canada, 
would  be  inestimuble.  ' 

"  I  have  been  a  careful  observer  of  the  conduct  of  the  people's  representa- 
tives in  the  Colonial  Assemblies ;  I  have  seen  men  in  whom  was  placed  the 
utmost  confidence,  fall  from  their  integrity  and  betray  their  sacred  trust ;  men, 
too,  who  had  entered  upon  their  legislative  duties  with  the  best  intentions  to- 
wards the  people,  and  who  evinced  for  a  time  a  firm  determination  to  support 
their  rights.  But  there  are  others  who  continue  to  maintain  and  uphold  the 
interests  of  their  country,  unshaken  and  undismayed ;  who  consider  it  their 
highest  honor  to  persevere  in  a  faithful  discharge  of  their  public  duties,  and 
eagerly  strive  to  deserve  the  good  will,  the  affection,  and  the  confidence  of 
their  fellow  subjects. 

"  Among  this  latter  class  I  am  desirous  of  being  numbered ;  and,  .mless  I 
shall  be  found  deserting  the  cause  of  the  people,  I  trust  that  the  people  will 
never  desert  me. 

"  Accept  my  sincere  thanks  for  the  abundant  proofs  of  kindness  and  confi- 
dence, and  for  the  liberal  assurance  of  support,  with  which  you  have  honored 
me,  and  believe  mo, 

"  Gentlemen,  Your  faithful  and  humble  servant, 

»  W.  L.  Mackenzie." 

York,  December  17th,  1827. 


THE  CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


145 


tor,  in  the  famous  type  case ;  but  he  was  astonished 
at  the  temerity  of  his  late  client  in  venturing  unasked 
to  declare  himself  a  candidate  for  the  representation 
of  the  most  populous  county  in  Upper  Canada.  It  so 
happened  that  Mr.  Small  was  to  be  a  candidate  for 
the  same  county.  He  called  upon  the  presumptuous 
editor  of  Ths  Advocate^  to  give  him  some  advice  about 
this  York  election.  He  dwelt  on  the  folly  of  a  person 
in  Mr.  Mackenzie's  position  attempting  to  oppose  one 
whose  long  residence  and  family  influence  would  be 
more  than  sufficient  to  secure  his  return.  These  ar- 
guments neither  convinced  Mr.  Mackenzie  nor  changed 
his  determination.  He  had  declared  himself  a  candi- 
date, and  a  candidate  he  would  be.  .       :  mh 

The  election  managers  took  the  case  of  the  county 
of  York  into  their  keeping.  On  the  4th  of  February, 
1828,  a  committee,  delegated  by  a  public  meeting  held 
at  Newmarket,  tried  to  bollot  Mr.  Mackenzie  out  of 
the  field.  Nine  votes  were  cast  for  Mr.  Small,  and 
only  three  for  Mackenzie ;  while  of  the  other  candi- 
dates Mr.  William  Roe  got  fifty-seven,  and  Mr.  Jessie 
Ketchum  forty-one.  Had  not  Mr.  Small  told  him  how 
it  would  be  ?  But  he  was  not  to  be  got  rid  of  in  this 
scientific  manner,  and  he  announced : 

"  I  have  attended  two  public  meetings,  but  it  is  not 
my  intention  to  go  to  any  more  until  I  meet  the  people 
at  the  hustings — it  is  a  needless  waste  of  time, — and 
benefits  nobvidy  but  the  tavern-keeper.  If  I  go  into 
the  Legislatuie,  it  must  be  in  my  own  way,  or  not  at 
all.  For  I  mean  to  break  through  all  the  old  estab- 
lished usages,  to  keep  no  open  houses,  administer  to 
the  wants  of  no  publican,  hire  no  vehicles  to  trundle 

19 


l\ 


§ 


Wm 


I'll 


146 


.  LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


'iJ 


freemen  to  the  hustings  to  serve  themselves,  nor  to 
court  the  favor  of  those  leading  men  who  have  so 
powerfully  influenced  former  elections.  I  will  not  lessen 
my  own  resources  for  maintaining  independence,  by 
spending  at  the  outset,  as  was  done  by  others  four 
years  ago,  a  sum  sufficient  to  maintain  my  large 
household  for  a  twelvemonth ;  but  if  I  shall  become 
one  of  the  stewards  of  the  Province,  I  hope  I  shall  be 
found  not  only ,  faithful,  but  also  fully  competent  to 
discharge  the  duties  of  a  representative  in  such  a  way 
^13  ought  to  secure  for  me  the  confidence  of  an  intelli- 
gent community." 

Virtuous  resolves  are  good ;  but  election  expenses  are 
not  easily  brought  under  control,  and  no  power  on 
earth  is  strong  enough  to  put  them  down  entirely. 
Mr.  Mackenzie's  first  election  cost  £500. 

Opposed  by  the  administration  and  its  organs,  from 
political  reasons,  Mr.  Mackenzie's  candidature  was 
contested  even  by  professed  liberal  journals,  from  a 
business  jealousy  that  derived  its  venom  from  the  cir- 
cumstance of  his  own  paper  having  a  circulation  larger 
than  any  rival  in  Upper  Canada.  Assailed  by  every 
newspaper  in  York,  except  his  own ;  libelled  in  pam- 
phlets, and  slandered  in  posters,  he  pursued  the  even 
tenor  of  his  way,  and  managed  to  find  time  for  the 
preparation  of  electioneering  documents,  calculated  to 
influence  not  merely  the  county  of  York,  but  the 
whole  Province.  His  "  Legislative  Black  List,"  early 
commenced  and  assiduously  kept  up,  contained  a  short 
commentary  on  the  divisions  that  had  taken  place 
during  the  two  previous  Provincial  Parliaments,  on 
prominent  and  important  questions.     The  publication 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


147 


was  commenced  on  the  29th  May,  and  the  Provincial 
Parliament  was  not  dissolved  till  the  24th  July. 
Compared  with  electioneering  documents  of  the  present 
day,  whether  in  Canada  or  the  States,  "  The  Black 
List"  was  mild  and  moderate.  In  republishing  Mr. 
Small's  election  address,  he  simply  appended  to  it, 
within  brackets,  "  Printed  at  the  Government  office." 

The  effect  of  this  new  mode  of  election  warfare  was 
visible  when  the  time  for  counting  votes  came.  Mr. 
Jonas  Jones,  whose  public  career  and  conduct  prob- 
ably presented  as  few  points  on  which  admiration 
could  find  a  resting  place  as  any  other  Colonial  poli- 
tician ^^  Ms  time,  was  defeated  by  Mr.  Buell,  in 
Leeds.  'i  >  Attorney  General  was  re-elected  by  a 
majorir  : !  only  seventeen.  Mr.  G.  S.  Boulton,  bro- 
ther of  the  SolLntor  General,  was  rejected  by  the  county 
of  Durham ;  and  several  other  similar  results  were 
visible  at  the  close  of  the  contest.  '      " 

By  this  time,  Mr.  Mackenzie's  pecuniary  circum- 
stances had  greatly  improved.  In  a  letter,  written 
previous  to  the  election,  he  gives  us  some  information 
on  this  point : 

"By  an  unwearied  application  to  business,  I  am 
now  again  an  unincumbered  freeholder  of  Upper 
Canada,  to  more  than  thrice  the  amount  required  by 
law,  as  a  parliamentary  qualification,  besides  being 
possessed  of  nearly  as  much  more  lands,  with  good 
bonds  for  deeds.  I  have  also  a  valuable  personal 
property,  including  a  business  which  nothing  but  the 
actual  knowledge  of  the  election  of  a  bad  parliament, 
in  aid  of  the  present  corrupt  administration,  would  in- 
duce me  to  quit.    Being  therefore  easy  in  my  circum- 


Pi 


H'i 


■m 


;•■ 


iiti 


t 


i 

i  i    1 

I       1 


148 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


stances,  entirely  freed  from  the  terrors  of  litigation, 
prosperous  in  my  business,  in  good  health,  and  owing 
very  few  debts,  I  have  applied  to  the  people  of  the 
most  populous  county  in  Upper  Canada,  for  the  high- 
est honor  in  their  gift,  the  surest  token  of  their  esteem 
and  confidence."      •  -        ^       i   -.s^ 

The  result  showed  that  Mr.  Small  had  miscalculated 
the  relative  influence  of  himself  and  his  opponent. 
.  The  first  session,  in  which  Mr.  Mackenzie  had  a 
seat  in  the  Legislative  Assembly,  opened  inauspi- 
ciously  for  the  advisers  by  whom  Sir  John  Colborne 
was  surrounded.  Having  been  convened  on  the  8th 
January,  1829,  it  soon  gave  proof  of  its  hostility  to  'ihe 
administration.  The  vote  on  the  speakership,  which 
stood  twenty-one  for  Mr.  Willson,  the  late  Speaker, 
and  twenty-four  for  Mr.  Bidwell,  did  not  at  all  indi- 
cate the  strength  of  parties ;  for,  while  Mr.  Willson 
received  the  support  of  the  Government,  the  division 
showed  that  he  still  retained  many  friends  among  the 
opposition.  The  address  in  reply  to  the  speech  from 
the  throne,  founded  on  resolutions  framed  by  Dr. 
Rolph,  and  containing  the  strongest  expressions  of 
a  want  of  confidence  in  the  advisers  of  the  Lieuten- 
ant Governor,*  was  carried  with  the  nearest  possible 


*  "lor  the  insurance  of  those  most  important  objects,  we,  His  Majesty's  most 
faithful  Commons,  confiding  in  the  candor  of  your  Excellency,  and  in  your 
readiness  to  recognize  \u  as  constitutional  advisers  of  the  crown,  do  humbly 
pray  your  Excellency  against  the  injurious  policy  hitherto  pursued  by  the 
Provincial  administration  ;  and,  although  we  at  present  see  j/our  Exeelltney  un- 
happily surrounded  by  the  same  advisers  as  have  so  deeply  uounded  the  feelings  and 
iiy'ured  the  best  interests  of  the  country,  yet  in  the  interval  of  any  necessary  change, 
we  entertain  an  anxious  belief  that,  under  the  auspices  of  your  Excellency,  the 
administration  of  justice  will  rise  above  suspicion ;  the  wishes  and  interests  of 
the  people  be  properly  respected ;  the  constitutional  rights  and  independence 


THE   CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


149 


approach  to  unanimity:  thirty-seven  against  one.*  In 
these  days  an  unanimous  vote  of  censure  on  the  Go- 
vernor's advisers  produced  no  change  of  ministry. 
The  Assembly  complained  of  the  Government,  when 
they  ought  to  have  struck  a  blow  at  the  system  which 
rendered  it  possible  for  a  party,  who  could  command 
only  a  small  minority  in  the  popular  branch  of  the  Legis- 
lature to  continue  their  grasp  upon  the  reins  of  power. 

Such  was  the  House  in  which  Mr.  Mackenzie  first 
held  a  seat ;  such  the  practice  of  the  Government, 
when  he  first  entered  public  life.      .  ;      n 

During  this  session  an  event  occurred  that  brought 
him  into  collision  with  two  members  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, who  were  afterwards  active  in  his  expulsion 
from  the  House,  upon  pretexts  that  were  wholly  in- 
adequate to  form  anything  like  a  justification.  The 
new  Governor,  Sir  John  Colborne,  had  been  exhibited 
in  effigy  at  Hamilton,  and  a  rumor  had  found  cur- 
rency that  there  was  a  conspiracy  to  liberate  Collins 
from  jail  by  force.  Whatever  connection  these  two 
subjects  may  have  had,  they  were  jointly  referred  to 
a  special  committee  of  inquiry.    Mr.  Gurnett  had 

of  tho  Legislature  be  held  inviolable  ;  the  prerc  jative  and  patronage  of  His 
Most  Gracious  Majesty  be  exercised  for  the  happiness  of  his  people  and  the 
honor  of  hia  crown,  and  the  revenues  of  the  colony  be,  hereafter,  sacredly  de- 
voted to  the  many  and  urgent  objects  of  public  improvement,  after  making 
provision  for  the  public  service  upon  the  basis  of  that  economy  which  is  suited 
to  the  exigencies  of  the  country  and  the  condition  of  its  inhabitants." 

*  Tho  following  is  the  list  of  members: — Messrs.  McDonald,  Fraser,  Mc- 
Lean, Blacklock,  Shaver,  Brouse,  Longley,  Henderson,  Kilborn,  Buell,  Morris, 
Thomson,  Dalton,  Bethune,  Radenhurst,  Bidwell,  Ferry,  Loekwood,  Samson, 
Peterson,  James  Wilson,  Lyons,  Ewings,  Smith,  Ketchum,  Mackenzie,  Caw- 
thra,  Matthews,  John  Rolph,  Robinson,  George  Rolph,  Hopkins,  Randal,  Lef- 
ferry,  Terry,  Woodruff,  John  Willson,  Hamilton,  Dicksou,  McCall,  Baldwin, 
Hornor,  Malcolm,  Wilkinson,  Baby,  McMartin,  Berczy,  and  FotbergiU. 


I 


!l    i 


>     I 


Ml 


150 


LIFF   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


«5tated  in  his  newspaper*  that  the  intention  of  certain 
petitioners  for  the  release  of  Collins  was  to  liberate 
him  by  force,  if  necessary.  On  the  29th  January, 
Dr.  Rolph  moved  that  Mr.  Grurnett  be  brought  to  the 
bar  of  the  House  to  be  interrogated  touching  this 
statement.  When  he  came  he  refused  to  answer,  on 
the  ground  that  his  evidence  would  implicate  himself. 
Mr.  (now  Sir)  Allan  McNab  was  also  among  the  wit- 
nesses called.  He  was  then  young  and  not  indisposed 
to  have  the  House  take  some  action  against  him  that 
might  give  him  a  chance  of  becoming  a  member  of  the 
next  Assembly ;  so  he  refused  to  answer  the  questions 
put  to  him.  On  motion  of  Dr.  Baldwin,  he  was  de- 
clared guilty  of  a  high  breach  and  contempt  of  the 
privileges  of  the  House.  Being  taken  into  the  cus- 
tody of  the  Sergeant-at-arms,  and  brought  a  prisoner 
to  the  bar  of  the  House,  he  complained  of  having  been 
tried  and  convicted  without  a  hearing.  His  defence 
was  not  satisfactory  to  the  House,  and  he  was,  on  mo- 
tion of  Mr.  Mackenzie,  committed  to  York  jail,  under 
the  warrant  of  the  Speaker,  during  the  pleasure  of  the 
House.  Mr.  McNab  is  said  not  to  have  looked  upon 
this  inconvenience  as  a  disservice;  but  he  would 
hardly  consider  himself  bound  to  be  grateful  for  it. 
Mr.  Solicitor  General  Boulton  was  also  called  as  a 
witness.  He,  too,  thought  himself  entitled  to  refuse 
to  answer  the  questions  of  the  committee,  and  for  this 
contempt  and  breach  c  ;rivilege  was  let  off  with  a 
reprimand  from  Mr.  Sp  a.  <^r  Bidwell.f    Mr.  Macken- 

*  The  Gore  Gazette. 

f  The  history  of  England  dc  s  not  furnish  a  single  instance  of  a  witneiia 
persisting  in  refusing,  like  Mr.  tcNab  and  Solicitor  General  Boulton,  to  an- 
swer questions  put  by  a  commi(,tee  of  the  House  of  Commons.    There  is,  there- 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


151 


zie  would  not  have  been  more  lenient  to  him  than  to 
Mr.  McNab,  and  the  Solicitor  General  was  not  of  a 
nature  to  forget  or  forgive.  Besides,  he  harbored 
contempt,  not  knowing  that  it  produces  its  like,  and 
afterwards  failed  to  find  in  the  vocabulary  words  to 
express  the  strength  of  that  feeling  towards  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie. '. 
No  sooner  had  Mr.  Mackenzie  got  into  the  Legisla- 
tive Assembly  than  he  became  one  of  its  most  active 
members.  He  commenced  as  he  ended,  by  asking  for 
information,  and  probing  to  the  bottom  questions  of 
great  public  interest.  In  the  committee  room  he 
made  his  mark,  during  the  first  session,  not  less  dis- 
tinctly than  in  the  House.  As  chairman  of  the  select 
committee  to  inquire  into  the  state  of  the  Post-oflice 
department,  in  Upper  Canada,  he  drew  up  a  compre- 
hensive report,  replete  with  the  most  valuable  infor- 
mation and  suggestions.  The  mail  service  was  mise- 
rably performed ;  and  matters  were  so  managed  as  to 
leave  a  considerable  surplus  profit,  which  failed  to 
find  its  way  into  the  Provincial  exchequer.  Not  a 
mile  of  new  post  road  could  be  opened,  or  a  single 
Post-office  established,  without  the  authority  of  the 
Postmaster  General,  in  England,  who  was  necessarily 
destitute  of  the  minute  local  information  necessary  for 
the  correct  determination  of  such  questions.  The 
postage  on  a  letter  between  England  and  Canada 
ranged  from  five  shillings  to  seven  shillings  and  six 
pence.  The  tri-weekly  mail  between  Montreal  and 
the  present  city  of  Toronto  was  slowly  dragged  over 

fore,  no  precedent  for  the  punishment  that  should  be  accorded  for  this  con- ' 
tempt  and  novel  species  of  broach  of  privilege.  _,    ;i".;i  .     ..." 


I  I 


■i  \\ 


1'  !•  if 


.ml\ 


I 


152 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


i1  ; 


roads  that  were  all  bu'.  impassable ;  and  it  was  a  stand- 
ing wonder  how  the  mail  carriers  were  er-^bled  to 
perform  their  duties  westward.  Mr.  Mackenzie  re- 
commended, as  the  beginnin;^  of  all  efficient  reform, 
that  the  department  should  be  placed  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  local  authorities.  He  also  laid  it  down  as 
a  principle  that  no  attempt  should  be  made  to  draw 
a  revenue  from  the  Post-office ;  but  that  the  entire  re- 
ceipts should  be  devoted  to  the  securing  of  additional 
postal  facilities.  In  case  the  department  came  under 
local  control,  he  recommended  the  retention  of  Mr. 
Stayner,  then  Deputy  Postmaster  General,  on  the 
ground  that  he  had  shown  himself  fully  equal  to 
the  discharge  of  the  duties.  Complaints  had  been 
made,  in  previous  sessions,  that  the  colonists  were 
taxed  without  their  consent,  through  the  Post-office 
department,  and  that  the  surplus  revenue  was  never 
accounted  for ;  a  complaint  which  had  been  met  by 
Attorney  General  Robinson  by  a  reference  to  Dr. 
Franklin,  who  was  said  not  to  have  regarded  postage 
in  the  light  of  taxation.  Inquiries  had  been  made; 
but  until  now  no  bold  and  comprehensive  remedy  was 
proposed.  Here,  as  on  so  many  other  questions,  Mr. 
Mackenzie  was  in  advance  of  his  cotemporaries  and  of 
the  times.  The  remedy  he  suggested,  of  placing  the 
department  under  local  control,  came  before  the 
end  of  another  generation ;  but  if  it  had  come  sooner, 
the  Province  would  have  been  the  gainer.  - 

Nor  was  this  the  only  committee  of  which  Mr. 
Mackenzie  was  chairman.  In  that  capacity  he  made 
a  report  on  the  privileges  of  the  House  and  the  con- 
duct of  returning  officers  at  the  recent  election.    Dr. 


THE  CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


153 


Powell,  a  previous  clerk  of  the  House,  had  been  dis- 
missed by  the  government,  without  reference  to  that 
branch  of  the  Legislature  whose  servant  he  was,  and 
his  successor  had  been  appointed  in  the  same  way. 
The  House  had  silently  acquiesced  in  the  appointment 
of  Mr.  Fitzgibbon  thus  made,  some  years  before ;  but 
Mr.  Mackenzie  was  not  willing  to  consecrate  a  princi- 
ple that  entrenched  on  the  privileges  of  the  body  of 
which  he  had  become  a  member.  At  the  previous 
election,  some  returning  ofl&cers  had  made  charges 
of  doubtful  legality  against  the  candidates.  Of  that 
nature  was  the  item  for  their  own  services ;  while  the 
cost  of  stationery  and  printing  incident  to  the  election 
was  legally  charged  against  candidates.  So  was  the  re- 
muneration of  the  poll  clerk.  Mr.  Mackenzie  reported 
these  facts  to  the  House,  without  indicating  a  specific 
remedy ;  but  he  afterwards  carried,  on  a  vote  of  twen- 
ty-seven against  five,  a  resolution  that  the  chief  clerk, 
with  the  approbation  of  the  Speaker,  should  appoint 
the  subordinate  officers  of  the  House,  except  the 
Sergeant-at-arms  and  any  others  appointed  under  the 
existing  law.       •"  -  • --' 

He  endeavored  to  bring  the  clerks  of  the  Crown  up 
to  their  duty ;  and  for  this  purpose  carried  an  address 
calling  the  attention  of  the  government  to  the  fact 
that  the  census  returns,  required  to  be  made  annually 
under  the  Assessment  Act,  were  frequently  neglected 
by  these  functionaries,  and  making  suggestions  for 
preventing  the  omission. 

During  this  session  Mr.  Mackenzie  carried  various 
other  motions  and  addresses  to  the  government.  On 
nearly  every  vote  he  was  sustained  by  immense  ma- 

20 


,.    I  'M 


154 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


■  '  ' 


jorities.  When  certain  powerful  intci'osts  were  inter- 
fered with,  his  success  was  not  so  marked ;  and  on  a 
few  occasions  he  failed  to  obtain  a  majority.  In  those 
days,  the  Legislative  Assembly  counted  a  chaplain 
among  its  servants ;  and  in  accordance  with  the  at- 
tempt, which  had  not  yet  been  abandoned,  to  give  the 
Church  of  England  a  position  of  ascendancy  in  Upper 
Canada,  he  was  a  member  of  that  Church.  On  a 
vote  of  eighteen  against  fourteen,  Mr.  Mackenzie  car- 
ried a  resolution  which  struck  at  this  exclusiveness, 
by  declaring  that,  during  the  remainder  of  the  session, 
the  clergy  of  the  town,  generally,  be  invited  to  of- 
ficiate, in  turn,  as  chaplain,  and  their  service  be  paid 
out  of  the  contingent  fund.  But  the  bill  repealing 
the  clause  of  a  statute  then  existing,  which  provided 
for  the  payment  of  a  fixed  salary  to  the  chaplain,  was 
rejected  by  the  Legislative  Council.  When  he  asked 
the  members  to  pay  the  postage  of  their  own  letters, 
if  they  exceeded  a  certain  weight,  he  failed  of  suc- 
cess. -   .     '  '     :       •   •  >       .  .,.'  ;',w.:i   !    ' 

•  Upon  most  of  the  propositions  he  offered  to  the  ac- 
ceptance of  the  House,  Mr.  Mackenzie  carried  over- 
whelming majorities  with  him.  But  the  G?vernment 
was  so  fenced  in  that  it  could  exist  in  the  laoe  of  any 
amount  of  opposition.  This  session  it  was  entirely 
independent  of  the  House  fo;  the  means  of  carrying 
on  the  government.  JN'o  money  grant  was  asked ;  and 
the  House  was  officially  informed  that  it  would  not 
be  expected  to  trouble  itself  with  the  matter.  The 
Crown  revenue,  which  came  into  its  hands,  under  an 
Imperial  statute  of  1774  (Geo.  III.  cap.  88),  sufficed  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  the  government  and  of  the  ad- 


THE   CANADIAN"   REBELLION. 


156 


ministration  of  justice  *  And  any  bills  passed  by  the 
House,  which  did  not  meet  the  sanction  of  the  govern- 
ment, could  be  easily  disposed  of  in  the  Legislative 
Council.  The  public  debt,  amounting  to  £112,166 
135. 4(?.,t  might  have  been  supposed  to  require  special 
attention,  for  there  were  £32,000  of  overdue  debentures 
unpaid.         .       ■  ,      .     , 

With  this  responsibility,  the  Province  was  spoken 
of  as  being  "overwhelmed  with  a  great  public  debt;" 
and  if  its  embarrassment  is  to  be  held  as  a  criterion, 
it  must  be  admitted  that  this  debt  was  a  greater  bur- 
then than  some  $60,000,000  is  at  present;  though  we 
now  look  at  the  amount  of  the  debt  in  1829  as  utterly 
contemptible.  Mr.  Mackenzie's  idea  was,  that  a  rigid 
course  of  economy  should  be  pursued  till  the  whole  of 
the  debt  was  paid  off.  In  the  course  of  this  session,  he 
brought  before  the  House  a  series  of  thirty-one  reso- 
lutions— a  moderate  number  compared  with  the  cele- 
brated ninety-tAvo  of  Lower  Canada — on  the  state  of 
the  Province.     He  therein  took  a  position   far  in 

*  This  was  generally  the  case — the  government  was  financially  independent 
of  the  House  ;  and  the  money  votes  for  public  improvements  were,  under  the 
vicious  system  then  in  vogue,  just  as  liable  to  be  initiated  by  members  of  the 
opposition  as  by  the  government.  In  Lower  Canada,  the  Legislature  con- 
tested the  right  of  the  government  to  appropriate  the  Crown  revenue.  The 
Crown  revenue,  in  that  Province,  was  not  sufficient  to  defray  the  expense  of  the 
government ;  and  when  applic'.tion  was  made  to  the  House  to  supply  the  de- 
ficiency, the  whole  question  of  revenue  and  expenditure  was  brought  into  dis- 
cussion. There  had  previously  been  complaints  that  the  Post-office  revenue 
was  not  under  the  control  of  the  House ;  and  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  among  the 
first  to  suggest  that  all  the  revenue  raised  in  the  Province  ought  to  be  appro- 
priated by  the  local  Legislature. 

t  The  public  debt  had  been  contracted  for  the  following  purposes :  Militia 
pensions,  £11,666  13a.  id. ;  Kettle  Creek  Harbor,  £3,000;  Burlington  Canal, 
£12,500 ;  Welland  Canal,  £76,000 ;  public  service  for  the  year  1824,  £10,000. 


i; 


M 


P 


f  ^ 


'  ii'. 


156 


LIF£   OF    MACKENZIE,   AND 


ill 


li 


advance  of  the  times.    Contending  for  that  right  of 
local  self-government,  of  which  the  constitution — sub- 
stantially the  same  which  united  Canada  now  pos- 
sesses— contained  the  guarantee,  he  asserted  the  right 
of  the  House  to  control  the  entire  revenue  arising 
within  the  Province ;  complained  that  money  voted 
for  the  civil  service  had  been  applied  to  the  pension- 
ing of  individuals  in  suras  of  from  £1,000  to  £600  a 
year;   denounced  the  favors  shown  to  a  particular 
church,  pensions — in  a  rather  wholesale  way  it  must 
be  admitted, — monopolies,  and  ex-officio  and  criminal 
prosecutions,  at  the  instance  of  the  Crown,  for  political 
libels.    The  necessity  of  making  the  Canadian  judges 
independent  was  asserted,  in  opposition  to  opinions 
expressed  in  high  quarters  in  England.     The  un- 
limited power  of  sheriffs,  holding  office  during  plea- 
sure, was  declared  to  be  dangerous  to  public  liberty ; 
especially  as  the  office  was  often  filled  by  persons  of 
neither  weight  nor   responsibility.     The  patronage 
exercised  by  the  Crown  or  its  agent,  the  Lieutenant 
Governor,  in  the  Province,  was  asserted  to  be  at 
variance  with  sound  policy  and  good  government. 
Though  the  importance  of  Canada  to  England,  as  a 
nursery  for  her  seamen,  and  as  a  country  consuming 
a  larger  quantity  of  British  goods  in  proportion  to 
the  population,  was  insisted  on,  it  was  alleged  that 
the  discontents  arising  from  the  abuse  of  power  were 
among  the  causes  that  led  to  the  invasion  of  the  Pro- 
vince in  the  war  of  1812 ;  the  losses  suffered  from  the 
war,  by  the  most  active  friends  of  the  British  power, 
falling  most  heavily  on  the  Niagara  District,  ought,  it 
was  contended,  to  be  made  good  out  of  the  territorial  re- 


ilil 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


167 


venue  of  the  Crown,*  instead  of  being  left  unliquidated 
or  allowed  to  fall  on  a  poor  province.  The  appoint- 
ment of  an  accredited  agent  at  the  seat  of  the  Imperial 
Government,  was  declared  to  be  desirable.  The  reso- 
lutions constituted  a  budget  of  grievances,  most  of 
which  have  not  only  been  redressed,  but  forgotten. 
The  resolutions  were  not  without  blemishes;  the  chief 
of  which  consisted  of  the  advocacy  of  the  protective 
system;  a  fault  very  common  in  those  times,  whon 
free  trade  had  not  become  fashionable,  and  when  t]\e 
chief  organs  of  English  opinion  asserted  thnt  suffi.  :ent 
favor  was  not  shown  to  the  productions  of  Canada. 
So  little  does  even  the  popular  branch  of  the  Le-^isla- 
ture  appear  to  have  been  conscious  of  the  justice  a  ad 
necessity  of  many  of  the  principles  asserted  in  several 
of  these  resolutions,  that  they  were  not  pressed  on  the 
House  for  adoption.  So  far  was  Mr.  Mackenzie  in 
advance  of  his  contemporaries. 

The  arrival  in  the  Province  of  Sir  John  Colborne, 
in  the  capacity  of  Lieutenant  Governor,  had  been 
hailed  as  the  sure  promise  of  a  new  era.  Before  the 
close  of  the  session,  during  which  an  Executive  Coun- 
cil, which  found  itself  in  a  permanent  t  "nority  in  the 
popular  branch  of  the  Legislature,  had  been  kept  in 
office,f  the  illusion  had  vanished.  Mr.  Mackenzie, 
who  had  been  elated  by  hopes  which  were  destined 

*  Tho  war  losses  compensfltion  was  u  constant  tubjoct  of  discussion  for 
Bome  twenty  years  after  the  war  was  over.  In  many  cases  exorbitant  claims 
were  probably  made ;  and  this  was  one  cause  of  tho  delay  in  sottlinf^  them. 
Another  difficulty  was  about  the  funds  out  of  which  they  vy^re  to  be  paid. 

f  The  following  is  a  correct  list  of  the  names  of  those  members  who 
formed  the  ExecutiTe  Oounoil,  the  dates  of  the  mandamuses,  and  the  time 


.11 1  'umiH'fi 


u 


!!    -l 


m 


'i 


:! 


l<r;|   I 


"ii 


158 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


not  to  be  realized,  now  uttered  complaints  where  he 
had  before  been  disposed  to  bestow  praise. 

He  had  gone  into  the  Legislature  with  a  desire 
to  point  out  and,  if  possible,  remedy  what  he  be- 
lieved to  be  great  abuses  in  the  Government.  Of  his 
speeches  during  the  first  session,  he  took  the  trouble 
to  preserve  but  few.  The  first  speech  he  publicly  de- 
livered, of  which  I  find  any  record,  was  made  before 
the  "Constitutional  Society  of  Upper  Canada,"  in 
March,  1828.  It  gave  a  premonition  of  that  power  of 
swaying  the  masses,  which  he  was  afterwards  to  wield 
with  so  much  effect.*    The  speech  was  made  in  oppo- 

when  each  of  them  were  sworn  into  office ;  one  of  whom  had  held  office  for  a 
period  of  thirty-seven  years : 


KAMSS. 


James  Baby.     .     .    , 
John  Strachan     .     . 
William  Campbell 
James  B.  Macaulay . 
Peter  Robinson      .     . 
George  H.  Markland 


DATES  07   MANDA- 
MUSES. 


5th  May,  1794. 
25th  July,  1817. 

5th  May,  1825. 
5th  July,  1827. 
6th  July,  1827. 


WHEN  SWORN  IN. 


9th  July,  1792. 
12th  February,  1818. 
2Gth  October,  1826. 
27th  June,  1826. 
6th  February,  1828. 
6th  February,  1828. 


*  This  speech  was  made  in  opposition  to  a  proposal  to  elect  Francis  Colling 
a  member  of  the  Society ;  and  as  it  is  the  first  of  his  I  find  on  record,  it  may 
not  be  amiss  to  give  an  extract:  "I  have  been  accused,  sir,  of  enmity  and 
disafiection  to  this  government ;  but  the  charge  was  as  unjust  as  it  was  foolish. 
I  have  lent  my  feeble  energies  to  the  cause  of  truth  ;  and  would  desire  to  see 
men  at  the  helm  of  affairs  who  would  call  out  and  foster  the  latent  genius  of 
our  people ;  who  would  patronize,  protect,  cherish,  and  multiply  among  us 
seminaries  of  useful  learning,  and  become  the  distinguished  friends  of  science, 
the  arts,  domestic  manufactures,  and  great  public  improvements,  whose  am- 
bition would  be  to  add  to  the  sum  of  human  happiness,  to  enlighten  the  mind 
of  the  benighted  peasant,  and  call  even  from  the  recesses  of  the  forest  and  the 
wilderness  of  Canada  to  Senate  and  Assembly  men  whose  patent  of  nobility 
would  bear  the  impress  of  their  Maker's  image,  and  who  would  forget  personal 
aggrandizement  in  the  nobler  and  better  purpose  of  promoting  the  public  good. 
.  .  .  Sir,  I  wish  to  live  in  peace  with  all  men,  before  God  and  the  world. 
I  envy  no  man,  nor  have  I  any  revenge  to  gratify.  The  tomb  will  soon,  very 
Boon,  cover  these  limbs  of  mine ;  and  the  dust  of  death  will  bury  in  oblivion 


THE  CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


159 


sition  to  a  proposal  to  elect  Francis  Collins  a  member 
of  the  Society.  , 

the  recollection  of  political  triumphs  and  political  reverses.  ...  I  have 
suffered  years  to  elapse  before  I  undertook  even  to  defend  myself  against  the 
sweeping  denunciations  of  a  being  who  delighted  to  trample  upon  truth  and 
justice,  and  to  hold  me  up  to  the  people  as  a  traitor  to  the  true  interests,  happi- 
ness, and  glory  of  my  adopted  country.  I  come  at  length  to  the  facts  on  which 
mv  objection  rests."  Mr.  Mackenzie  seldom  replied  to  personal  abuse ;  and  he 
refused  to  receive  or  read  the  productions  of  the  "  Kennel  Presses,"  as  he  called 
the  journals  that  pursued  him  with  slander.  Speaking  of  them  towards  the 
close  of  1829,  he  said :  '*  These  vehicles  continue,  week  after  week,  to  vomit  up 
calumny  with  the  force  and  efiPect  of  so  many  forty  shrew-power  steam  engines. 
It  is  of  no  use  to  try  to  shame  them,  they  have  no  sense  of  shame."  And  a 
week  or  two  later,  he  again  noticed  the  "  Kennel  Presses,"  in  these  words : 
«'  We  stated  lately  the  titles  of  some  six  or  seven  provincial  vehicles  of  news, 
which  we  had  declined  to  receive,  read,  or  exchange  with.  To  that  list  has  been 
since  added,  the  York  Observer.  We  positively  do  not  want  to  have  served  up 
to  us,  almost  daily,  an  endless  farrago  of  nonsensical  jargon  and  abuse.  Those 
who  admire  the  eloquence  of  a  scolding  woman  will  stay  and  hear  her  hold 
forth ;  those  who  do  not,  will  maintain  a  proper  distance  from  her  bell-clapper. 
Although  desirous  to  take  rank  among  the  latter  class,  we  must  concede  the 
fact,  that  a  female  shrew  or  a  male  scold  will,  each  of  them,  have  their  own 
way ;  there  is  no  stopping  them." 


,r 


'  i. :  I,  /    .-■ 


V 


'l  i 


Hi 


W, 


' 

i' 

■f 

1 

.■    ■   J  i     ■      lit 
■        ^  '  ",  '-i 

I  "!■!  ;     --!  . 


J 


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) 


■  h 


li 


160 


LIFE  07  MACKENZIE,  AND 


\ 

.■;&ti 


CHAPTER    XI.  , 

Visit  to  the  United  States — Admires  Cameronian  Preaching  and  Scottish 
Psalmody — Letter  to  the  National  Gazette — Comparisons  between  the  States 
and  Canada — A  Charge  of  Disloyalty  met — Mr.  B.  Baldwin  elected  to  the 
Assembly,  but  does  not  take  his  Seat — Action  for  Libel,  growing  out  of  this 
Election,  brought  by  Mr.  Small  against  Mr.  Mackenzie — The  Legislative 
Session  of  1830 — The  House  Unanimous  in  demanding  a  Change  of  Admi- 
nistration— The  Lieutenant  Governor  sends  a  Contemptuous  Beply — Mac- 
kenzie proposes  to  send  a  Commissioner  to  England  to  lay  the  state  of  the 
Province  before  the  Imperial  Government — Is  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Banking — The  Government  hold  one-fourth  of  the  Shares  in  a  Bank — The 
Chaplain  Question — Bevenue — Libel  Laws — Disgraceful  State  of  Prisons- 
Placemen  in  the  Legislative  Council — The  Canal  Era — Financial  Jugglery- 
Effect  of  the  Canals  on  the  Price  of  Produce. 

Englishmen  travelling  in  the  United  States  may 
be  divided  into  two  classes :  enthusiastic  admirers  or 
critical  objectors.  British  subjects  of  all  ranks  and 
conditions  have  been  found  in  each  class.  Young 
and  inexperienced  persons,  who  are  willing  to  accept 
appearance  for  reality,  were  most  likely  to  become  the 
admirers  ot  American  institutions.  Nothing  short 
of  a  fixed  residence  in  the  States,  for  some  years, 
would  cure  these  persons  of  their  predilections.  The 
ardent  temperament  of  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  well  cal- 
culated to  betray  him  into  admiration  with  specious 
appearance,  the  real  value  of  which  could  only  be  de- 
tected by  years  of  observation. 


THE  CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


161 


In  the  spring  o-  L?j29  he  visited  New  York,  Wash- 
ington, Philadelphia,  and  other  places  in  the  United 
States,  with  a  disposition  to  view  every  thing  he  saw 
there  in  couleur  de  rose;  adding  brilliancy  to  the  hues 
and  tints  by  hideous  contrasts.  The  alarming  sound 
of  a  threatened  dissolution  of  the  Union  even  then 
fell  upon  his  ears ;  he  could  detect  in  them  nothing 
but  the  complaints  of  disappointed  faction.  He,  how- 
ever, learned  something  of  the  American  character 
which  he  did  not  know  before,  and  his  mind  was 
taken  back  to  the  Alien  question.  In  one  of  his  let- 
ters, written  on  the  14th  May,  he  confessed:  " I  have 
never  yet  seen  an  American  who  would  prefer  another 
system  of  government  to  his  own :  local  circumstances 
may  cause  him  to  emigrate,  but  an  American  is,  in  his 
heart,  an  American  still  ;*  and  the  more  I  see  of  this 
country  the  better  I  can  account  for  the  objections 
made  by  persons  in  office,  in  Canada,  to  the  admis- 

*  It  was  evidently  not  Mr.  Mackenzie's  intention  to  say  this  in  dispraise  of 
the  Americans,  for  he  noticed  with  disapprobation  the  following  versified  and 
offensive  expression  of  the  same  idea  in  The  Upper  Canada  Courier : — 

«« I  turn  my  lay,  a  feeble  lay,  I  fear, 
To  those  small  men  who've  just  departed  hero, 
And  meet  for  legislation  once  a-year. 
But  let  me  say,  before  my  bark  I  launch, 
I  sing  the  lower,  not  the  higher  branch. 
First — who's  their  head  ?    A  man  of  solid  sense, 
A  Mr.  Bidwell,  saving  of  his  pence. 
By  birth  a  Yankee — what  can  you  expect 
From  Democrats  with  British  honors  decked? 
Though  they  may  crouch  and  cringe  to  you,  and  pray, 
Their  natal  feeling  ne'er  will  wear  away. 
And  e'en  when  cherished  far  above  the  rest, 
Still  rankling  venom  works  within  their  breast. 
Still  they'll  contend  that  happiness  or  bliss 
la  not  '  beneath  a  Government  like  this.' " 
21 


i,  I    i 


h  'fl\K 


•bl 


162 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,    AND 


sion  of  its  citizens  to  naturalization  among  us."  A 
Scotsman  "  in  feeling  and  principle,"  he  looked  upon 
the  United  States  as  an  asylum  for  the  oppressed  of 
all  countries,  in  spite  of  that  slavery  which  was  "  the 
worst  and  darkest  blot  on  its  escutcheon."  '-*  -'i-,!*  •  (fii 

Tv/o  things,  mentioned  in  his  letters  from  New  York, 
serve  to  show  that  the  influence  of  the  principles 
which  had  been  instilled  into  him  from  his  earliest 
days  had  not  been  effaced  in  the  rude  collision  with  the 
outer  world.  "  In  the  afternoon,"  he  writes,  "  I  went 
to  hear  Dr.  McLeod,  a  steadfast  Presbyterian  of  the 
old  school ;  the  genuine  Cameronian,  and  a  good 
preacher.  There  the  old  and  solemn  tunes  of  our 
fathers  have  not  yet  made  way  for  ballad  rhymes; 
there  the  single  line  of  old  Scottish  Psalmody  is  given 
out  by  the  preacher  in  truly  national  style ;  there  the 
discourse  is  divided  and  subdivided  into  heads  and  ob- 
serves in  true  covenanting  fashion.  I  felt  more  at 
home  in  this  church,  the  members  of  which  are  either 
Scotch,  or  generally  from  the  north  of  Ireland,  than 
I  have  often  done  while  listening  to  the  splendid  elo- 
quence of  much  more  popular  orators."  The  other 
instance  is  to  be  found  in  a  reference  to  Tom  Paine,  of 
whom  he  says  :  "  Had  he  had  sense  enough  to  remain 
contented  with  his  ample  share  of  fame  as  the  author 
of  '  The  Rights  of  Man,'  and  '  Common  Sense,'  with- 
out interfering  with  revealed  religion,  he  would  at 
this  day  have  probably  stood  next  to  Washington  and 
Franklin,  as  a  i^romoter  of  the  glorious  revolution 
which  gave  freedom  to  jAmerica." 

When  Mackenzie  republished  some  of  Paine's  poli- 
tical works,  political  malice  ascribed  to  him  a  participa- 


M 


THE   CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


163 


tion  in  the  skeptical  opinions  expressed  by  the  author 
in  some  other  works.  On  the  injustice  of  an  imputa- 
tion made  on  such  grounds,  and  upon  such  a  pretext, 
there  cannot  be  two  opinions. 

While  on  his  visit  to  the  United  States,  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie wrote  a  long  letter,  on  the  political  condition  of 
Canada,  to  the  editor  of  the  National  Gazette.  The 
authorship  was  not  avowed,  and  though  various  con- 
jectures were  hazarded  on  the  subject,  it  is  difficult 
to  see  how  it  could  have  been  a  question  at  all.  The 
letter  bore  the  strongest  internal  evidence  of  its  author- 
ship, and  was  besides  little  more  than  an  amplification 
of  the  thirty-one  resolutions  he  had  brought  before 
the  Legislature  in  the  previous  session.  The  princi- 
pal points  in  the  letter,  that  were  not  urged  in  the 
resolutions,  were  an  elective  Legislative  Council,  which, 
like  so  many  other  changes  which  found  in  him  an 
early  advocate,  lias  since  been  effected,  and  an  elec- 
tive Gov^ernor,  which  nobody  now  asks  for.  He  re- 
garded the  Legislative  Council  as  serving  in  some  sort 
as  a  shield  to  the  Lieutenant  Governor,  by  relieving 
the  Executive  of  a  responsibility  which  it  must  other- 
wise often  have  assumed.  But  as  its  members  owed 
tlieir  appointment  to  the  Crown,  and  most  of  them 
were  office-holders  of  one  grade  or  another,  the  in- 
strument did  not  conceal  the  hand  that  had  used  it. 

The  contrasts  made  between  the  government  of 
Canada,  as  then  administered,  and  that  of  Washing- 
ton, could  hardly  be  otherwise  than  of  dangerous  ten- 
dency. An  English  statesman  might  make  them  with 
impunity ;  but  if  a  Canadian  followed  his  example, 
his  motives  would  not  fail  to  be  impugned.     So  it  was 


1  t 


(■If 


rH 


164 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


li 


with  Mr.  Mackenzie,  who  claimed  to  be,  in  English 
politics,  neither  more  nor  less  than  a  Whig.  These 
contrasts  obtruded  themselves  by  the  propinquity  of 
the  two  countries ;  and  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose 
that  in  Mr.  Mackenzie's  case,  they,  at  this  time,  im- 
plied any  disloyalty  to  England.*  :  ^        '    i 

*  Attached  to  ono  of  the  letters  which  Mr.  Mackenzie  addressed  to  the  Earl 
of  Dulhousie,  in  May,  1827,  is  a  manuscript  note:  "  I  was  for  England  in  1820, 
1824, 1827,  1833,  1884 ;  but  1886-7  choked  off  my  loyalty."  As  the  general 
election  of  1831  approached,  the  misrepresentations  of  the  object  of  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie's mission  to  the  United  States  continued  to  be  repeated  with  increased 
virulence  and  rancor.  He  met  them  by  the  publication  of  the  following  letter : 

Department  of  State,     ") 
Washington,  July  28,  1830.  / 

"Sir  : — Your  letter  of  the  first  of  this  month  to  the  Secretary,  on  the  sub- 
ject of  an  article  which  appeared  some  time  ago  in  the  columns  of  the  iVew 
York  Courier  and  Enquirer,  and  has  since  been  re-published  in  other  public 
journals,  both  of  Canada  and  the  United  States,  with  additional  innuendoes 
and  particulars,  was  received  on  the  19th  inst.  at  this  Hce,  during  his  absence; 
but  I  lost  no  time  in  communicating  its  contents  to  inm.  The  object  of  the 
article  or  articles  referred  to,  is,  to  indicate  a  visit  to  the  United  States  and  to 
its  capital  during  the  last  summer,  as  connected  with  some  revolutionary  move- 
ment in  the  Canadas,  in  relation  to  which  your  agency  was  employed  with  the 
Federal  Government;  and  you  call  upon  the  Secretary,  in  his  ofiScial  capacity, 
positively  and  decidedly  to  contradict  it. 

"  I  have,  accordingly,  just  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Van  Buren,  the  Secre- 
tary, dated  at  Albany,  the  23d  of  this  month,  expressly  authorizing  me  to  deny 
all  knowledge  of  or  belief,  on  his  part,  in  the  designs  imputed  to  you,  as  I  now 
have  the  honor  of  doing,  and  to  state,  moreover,  that  he  has  not  the  smallest 
ground  for  believing  that  your  visit  had  anything  political  for  its  object.  He 
directs  me  also  to  add,  that  if  tho  President  were  not  likewise  absent  from  the 
scat  of  Government,  he  is  well  persuaded  ho  would  readily  concur  in  the  de- 
claration which  I  have  thus  had  the  honor  of  making  in  his  behalf. 

"I  am,  Sir,  respectfully, 

•*  Your  obedient  servant, 

"DANIEL  BRENT,  Chief  Clerk. 

"■William  L.  Mackenzie,  Esq.,  York,  Upper  Canada." 

The  narrative  would  be  incomplete  if  it  were  not  added  that  the  late  Mr. 
George  Gurnett,  as  publisher  of  the  Upper  Canada  Courier,  was  active  in  cir- 


m 


THE   CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


165 


During  the  parliamentary  recess,  a  vacancy  having 
occurred  in  the  rt  presentation  of  York,  by  the  ap- 
pointment of  Attorney  General  Robinson  to  the  Chief 
Justiceship  of  the  Court  of  King's  Bench,  the  vacant 
seat  was  contested  between  Mr.  Robert  Baldwin,  w^hose 
father  was  then  a  member  of  the  House,  and  Mr. 
James  E.  Small.  Mr.  Mackenzie  supported  the  for- 
mer, who  obtained  ninety-two  votes  against  fifty-one 
given  to  his  opponent  ;*  and  after  the  election  was 
over,  the  journalist  felt  himself  entitled  to  counsel  the 
successful  candidate  not  to  carry  into  the  Legislature 
the  habits  of  the  advocate. 

The  day  before  the  election  commenced,  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie printed  charges  against  Mr.  Small,  that  were 
afterwards  made  the  subject  of  an  action  for  libel. 
The  matter  complained  of  as  libellous,  consisted  of 
statements  made  by  Mr.  James  Hogg,  of  Milford  Mills, 
and  Mr.  Daniel  McDougal,  affecting  the  reputation 
of  Mr.  Small,  as  Solicitor,  in  a  case  in  which  they 
were  concerned,  one  as  plaintiff,  the  other  as  defend- 
ant. 

Taking  the  House  of  Assembly  for  our  guide,  it 


!  I 


1    1 


IM 


culnting  these  accusations.  Of  the  latter,  Mr.  William  Wallace,  formerly  a 
partner  of  Mr.  Gurnett,  wrote  from  Kichmond,  Virginia,  September  1,  1830, 
that  while  living  there,  "he  (Mr.  Gurnett)  renounced  his  allegiance  to  all  po- 
tentates, and  particularly  to  the  King  of  Great  Britain,  as  is  recorded  in  our 
Court."  Mr.  Gurnett  afterwards  became  Clerk  of  the  Peace  for  the  county  of 
York,  and  Police  Magistrate  of  Toronto.     He  died  in  the  fall  of  last  year. 

*  The  House  declared  the  election  null  and  void  upon  a  point  of  privilege. 
The  Governor  had  assumed  the  responsibility  of  issuing  the  writ,  contrary,  it 
was  said,  to  the  privileges  of  the  House,  who  had  the  right  to  adjudge  tho 
Beat  vacant,  and  order  the  speaker  to  issue  a  writ  for  a  new  election.  The  Gov- 
ernor yielded  the  point;  causing  the  great  seal  to  bo  alfixed  to  the  writ  issued 
by  the  House.    Mr.  Baldwin  was  re-elected. 


i 

III     . 


I    i- 

V 


166 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,    AND 


would   be  difficult  to  imagine  a  government  admin- 
istered in  more  direct  defiance  of  the  public  will  than 
that  of  Canada,  in  1830.  The  Legislative  session  opened 
on  the  8th  of  January ;  and  in  the  address  in  reply  to 
the   speech   of  the  Lieutenant  Governor,  the  House 
was  unanimous  in  demanding  the  dismissal  of  the  Ex- 
ecutive Council.     "We  feel  unabated  solicitude,"  said 
the  representatives  of  the  people,  "  about  the  admin- 
istration of  public  justice,  and  entertain  a  settled  con- 
viction that  the  continuance  about  your  Excellency  of 
those    advisers,  who,  from  the  unhappy  policy  they 
have  pursued  in  the  late  administration,  have  long, 
deservedly,  lost  the  confidence  of  the  country,  is  highly 
inexpedient,  and  calculated  seriously  to  weaken  the 
expectations  of  the  people  from  the  impartial  and  dis- 
interested justice  of  His  Majesty's  Government."   The 
House  was  unanimous  in  desiring  the  removal  of  the 
advisers  of  the  Lieutenant  Governor ;  but  a  discussion 
arose  upon  the  proper  method  of  accomplishing  that  ob- 
ject.  Mr.  Fothergill  suggested  impeachment ;  but  there 
were  two  objections  to  such  a  procedure.     Impeach- 
ment must  proceed  upon  a  specific  crime ;  but  here  it 
was  a  question  of  non-confidence.     And  before  whom 
could  the   impeachment  be  tried?    The   Legislative 
Council  might  be  asked  to  adjudicate  upon  the  case; 
but,  as  Dr.  Rolph  remarked,  that  would  be  to  ask  the 
son  to  try  the  father.     Mr.  Mackenzie  hit  upon  the 
true  remedy.     "  I  would,"  he  said,  "  candidly  inform 
His  Majesty's  njinisters  that  they  do  wrong  to  encour- 
age and  support  in  authority  an   organized  body  of 
men  in  direct  opposition  to  the  wishes  of  the  people 
of  the  country."     If  there  was  any  hope  of  making 


THE  CANADIAN   EEBELLION. 


167 


the  wishes  of  the  House  prevail,  it  was  by  an  appeal 
to  England.  The  Lieutenant  Governor  had,  in  the 
previous  session,  been  appealed  to  by  an  almost  unan- 
imous vote  of  the  House,  to  remove  his  advisers ;  but 
he  had  felt  himself  at  liberty  to  ignore  the  wishes  of 
the  people's  representatives.  On  a  direct  vote  of  a 
want  of  confidence,  the  government  had,  in  the  pre- 
vious session,  been  able  to  muster  one  vote  out  of 
thirty-eight ;  now  their  solitary  supporter  had  de- 
serted them.  By  the  personal  favor  of  the  Governor, 
they  were  still  retained  in  office.  Mr.  Mackenzie's 
proposition  to  send  a  commissioner  or  commissioners 
to  England,  to  lay  before  the  Imperial  authorities  the 
state  of  the  colony,  looked  to  an  efficient  remedy,  and 
if  acted  upon,  might  have  led  to  the  result  which  the 
whole  House  desired  to  produce.  '        ■>  ^      '    ? 

The  Lieutenant  Governor  received  the  address  of 
the  House  with  a  curtness  that  reveals  a  petulant 
sullenness  bordering  on  insult :  "  I  return  you  my 
thanks  for  your  address,"  was  all  he  condescended  to 
say.  That  it  might  not  appear  invidious,  he  used  the 
same  formula  in  receiving  the  echo  address  of  the 
Legislative  Council. 

No  member  of  the  House  had  the  same  knowledge 
of  financial  matters,  revenue,  banking,  and  currency, 
as  Mr.  Mackenzie.  There  were  more  finished  schol- 
ars and  more  brilliant,  though  not  more  powerful, 
orators  than  he ;  but  in  his  knowledge  of  the  myster- 
ies of  accounts  he  was  unrivalled.  At  the  commence- 
ment of  the  session,  he  concluded  an  able  speech  on 
the  currency,  by  moving  for  a  coinmittee  of  inquiry. 
Of  this  committee  he  was  chairman  ;  and  in  that  capa- 


n  1   . 


'   A'rl 


^V^' 


lii 


^ 


ll,i' 


168 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


city  inatlc  an  elaborate  report* on  banking  and  currency. 
One  of  the  results  of  the  inquiry  was  the  passage  of 
an  Act  (Geo.  IV.  cap.  6)  introduced  by  Mr.  Macken- 
zie, declaring  that  such  British  coins  as  were  depre- 
ciated more  than  one  twenty-fifth  of  their  weight, 
should  not  bo  a  legal  tender.  There  was  much  room 
for  amendment  in  the  principles  on  which  the  banks 
were  established.  One  fourth  of  the  stock  of  the 
Bank  of  Upper  Canada  was  held  by  the  government, 

••'The  system  of  bunking,"  said  the  report,   "in   most  general  use  in  the 
United   States,   and  which  may  with   propriety  bo  termed  'the   American 
Banking  system,'  is  curried  on  by  Joint  Stock  Companies,  in  which  the  stock- 
holders are  authorized  to  issue  notes  to  a  certain  extent  beyond  the  amount  of 
their  capital ;  while  their  persons  are  privileged  from  paying  the  debts  of  the 
institution,  in  the  event  of  a  failure  of  its  funds  to  meet  its  engagements."    On 
this  Eystcm,  which  had  found  its  way  into  Canada,  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  anx- 
ious that  no  more  banks  should  be  chartered  ;  but  in  case  the  House  resolved 
upon  that  course,  he  recommended  the  following  precautions,  us  likely  to  af- 
ford  some  security  to  the  bill-holders :     "  First,  That  a  refusal  to  redeem  their 
paper  should  amount  to  a  dissolution   of  their  charter.     Second,   That  the 
dividends  bo  made  out  of  the  actual  bona  fide  profits  only.     Third,  That  stock 
should  not  be  received  in  pledge  for  discounts.     Fourth,  That  stockholders, 
resident  within  the  district  in  which  any  bank  is  situated,  should  not  vote  by 
proxy.     Fifth,  That  either  branch  of  the  Legislature  should  have  the  power  to 
appoint  proper  persons  to  ascertain  the  solvency  of  the  bank,  or  detect  mis- 
management, if  they  should  see  fit  to  institute  an  inquiry.     Sixth,  And  it 
should  bo  stipulated,  that  any  act  of  the  Legislature,  prohibiting  the  circula- 
tion of  bills  under  five  dollars,  shall  not  bo  considered  an  infringement  of  the 
charter.    Seventh,  The  book  or  books  of  the  company,  in  which  the  transfer 
of  stock  shall  be  registered,  and  the  books  containing  the  names  of  the  stock- 
holders, shall  be  open  to  the  examination  of  every  stockholder  in  business 
hours,  for  thirty  days  previous  to  any  election  of  directors.  Eighth,  Full,  true, 
and  particular  statements  should  be  periodically  required,  after  a  form  to  be 
determined  on,  and  which  will  exhibit  to  the  country  the  actual  condition  of 
the  bank  to  bo  chartered."   To  fourteen  different  questions  put  to  them  by  Mr. 
Mackenzie,  the  officers  of  the  Bank  of  Upper  Canada  refused  to  reply;  but  it 
does  not  appear  that  any  of  them  were  committed  for  contempt.    Such  a  thing 
had  never  occurred  in  the  Parliamentary  history  of  England ;  but  the  bank 
officers  here  had  the  bad  precedent  of  the  Solicitor  General,  who  was  also  their 
solicitor,  for  their  guide.  .  .    '. ' 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


169 


anfl  tho  stockholders  Were   only  responsible  for  the 
amount  of  tlieir  shares.  ;  r*     ;;i    .w. 

The  Provincial  government  had,  as  wo  have  seen, 
assumed  the  appointment  of  a  chaplain  to  the  Legis- 
lative Assembly.  Mr.  Mackenzie  took  up  the  ques- 
tion as  one  of  privilege ;  and  proposed  to  resolve  that 
the  House  refuse  to  receive  the  Rev.  Dr.  Phillips  as 
its  chaplain ;  but  that,  instead,  the  ministers  of  the 
diiferent  denominations  of  York  be  requested  to  offici- 
ate during  the  session  as  chaplains,  under  such  ar- 
rangements as  may  be  made  by  the  Speaker.  But 
Mr.  Mackenzie  treated  the  question  as  something 
more  than  one  of  privilege ;  as  a  part  of  a  system 
which  gave  a  positive  dominancy  to  a  particular  de- 
nomination. Resolutions  embodying  these  views  re- 
ceived the  assent  of  the  House. 

He  moved  an  address  for  detailed  accounts  of  the 
different  branches  of  the  public  revenue ;  introduced  a 
bill — which  passed  unanimously  at  its  final  stage — 
providing  that  the  publication  of  truth,  unless  with 
malicious  intent,  should  not  be  a  libel ;  and  that  the 
defendant  in  an  action  for  libel  should  be  entitled  to 
plead  truth  in  justification  and  produce  his  proofs. 
Another  bill  he  introduced  for  the  support  of  the  poor, 
lame,  blind,  and  persons  deprived  of  their  reason. 
The  libel  bill  was  rejected  by  the  Legislative  Council, 
in  company  with  over  forty  others. 

As  chairman  of  a  committee,  Mr.  Mackenzie  brought 
to  light  some  disgraceful  facts  bearing  upon  the  con- 
ditions of  the  Provincial  prisons.  Into  an  under- 
ground cell  of  the  York  jail,  three  female  lunatics 
were  stowed ;  one  of  whom  had  become  deranged  by 

22 


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iin 

''  iBbIH' 

I 

llffll 

1 

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■ 

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li 


170 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


the  (Icsortion  of  her  husband.  Thoy  were  lodged  in 
lo(;k-up  cribs,  on  straw  ;  two  in  one  crrib,  and  the  third 
in  another.  The  stench  of  their  insalubrious  dungeon, 
where  they  were  contincd  in  strait  jackets,  was  coni- 
l^lained  of  by  the  prisoners  above.  The  bod  clothes 
of  some  of  the  prisoners  wore  not  washed  for  six  or 
eight  months  together.  The  atmosphere  was  in  the 
last  degree  pestilential,  and  the  food  insufficient.  An 
idle  apj)rentico  and  a  person  charged  with  murder 
associated  in  the  same  room ;  which  necessarily  be- 
came a  school  of  vice  for  the  less  hardened. 

As  in  the  previous  session  of  1829,  Mr.  Mackenzie 
brought  forward  resolutions,  directed  against  the  prac- 
tice of  filling  the  Legislative  Council  with  dependent 
place-men ;  but  they  were  not  pressed  on  either  occa- 
sion. If  this  point  had  been  pressed  by  the  House, 
which  showed  an  inexplicable  backwardness  in  dealing 
with  it,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  it  would  have 
been  conceded  by  the  Imperial  Government.*  i 

*  In  a  dispatch,  addressed  by  Sir  George  Murray,  then  Colonial  Secretary, 
to  Sir  James  Komp,  Governor  of  Lower  Canada,  Sept.  29,  1829,  and  also 
••virtually"  addressed  to  Sir  John  Colborno,  as  ho  was  oificially  advised,  the 
following  passage  on  the  subjeut  of  the  Legislative  and  Executive  Councils 
occurs : 

*'  The  constitution  of  the  Legislative  and  Executive  Councils  is  another  sub- 
ject which  has  undergone  considerable  discussion,  but  upon  which  His  Majes- 
ty's Government  must  suspend  their  opinion  until  I  shall  have  received  some 
authentic  information  from  your  Excellency.  You  will,  therefore,  have  the 
goodness  to  report  to  me,  whether  it  would  bo  expedient  to  make  any  altera- 
tion in  the  general  constitution  of  those  bodies,  and  especially  how  far  it  would 
bo  desirable  to  introduce  a  larger  proportion  of  members  not  holding  offices  at 
the  pleasure  of  the  Crown  ;  and  if  it  should  be  considered  desirable,  how  far 
it  may  be  practicable  to  find  a  sufficient  number  of  persons  of  respectability 
of  this  description."  Under  these  circumstances  an  immense  power  was  placed 
in  the  hands  of  the  Governors. 


THE   CANADIAN    KKllKLLION. 


171 


Tlic  cnnal  ora  prcciotlod  that  of  railroadH.  In  1824, 
nut  a  single  effort  of  a  practical  nature  had  been  iriado 
to  improve  the  inland  navigation  of  the  Province. 
In  1830,  the  Ilideau  had  been  completed.  A  v<»ssel 
of  eighty-four  tons  burthen  had,  in  the  previous  No- 
vember, passed  through  the  Welland.  The  lUirling- 
ton  and  the  Desjardins  canals  were  far  advanced  to- 
wards completion.  Mr.  Mackenzie,  who  had  been  a 
warm  advocate  of  internal  improvements,  obtained  a 
committee,  in  the  session  of  1830,  to  inquire  into  the 
iiianagement  and  expenditure  of  the  Welland  Canal 
Company.  The  whole  thing  had  so  much  the  appear- 
ance of  a  financial  juggle — the  original  estimates  of 
£bj,(XX3  to  £23,000  having  been  followed  by  an  ex- 
penditure of  over  £273,000* — that  curiosity  must 
have  been  much  excited  to  know  by  what  legerdemain 
the  different  steps  in  the  financial  scheme  had  suc- 
ceeded one  another.f    Mr.  Mackenzie  fully  appreci- 

»  This  canftl  has  now  cost  £1,727,922  5».  3d. 

t  The  original  estimates  were  only  for  a  canal  that  would  pass  vessels  of 
forty  toiiH  burthen.  The  company's  capitiil  was  originally  limited  to  £40,000. 
Till'  govornment  was  empowered  to  take  the  work  at  the  end  of  thirty  years, 
on  pnying  the  company  twenty-five  per  cent  premium  on  the  outlay.  The  es- 
timates were  made  in  1824  ;  and  in  April,  1828,  un  act  was  passed  increasing 
tlie  capital  stock  to  £200,000.  The  Province  subscribed  for  £2r>,000  of  the 
stock,  in  1825 ;  and  next  year  it  loaned  to  the  company  £25,000,  at  interest,  for 
tiireo  years.  In  1827,  this  loan  was  converted  into  stocks,  by  a  very  close 
vote,  twenty  against  eighteen.  In  182G,  the  Legislature  had  been  told  that 
the  work  would  bo  completed  by  the  8j)ring  of  1827,  at  a  cost  of  £20,000  less 
than  the  company's  capital.  When  1827  cnme,  the  usual  story  about  unfore- 
seen circumstances  was  told  ;  and  by  1830,  it  was  admitted  that  the  whole  ex- 
penditure would  be  £300,000.  Although  Lower  Canada  had  only  a  remote 
interest  in  the  work,  her  Legislature  came  forward,  in  1827,  with  a  subscrip- 
tion of  £25,000  to  the  stock.  Next  year,  Mr.  Mcrritt  visited  England,  and 
obtained  from  the  British  Government  a  loan  of  £60,000,  in  security  for  which 
authority  was  afterwards  given  to  assign  the  whole  work.     He  also  sold  some 


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4\ 


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4 


i   ■■'  f 


172 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


ated  the  effects  of  these  internal  improvenaents  upon 
the  price  of  produce.     "  Instead  of  Is.  10^6?.  to  2s.  6d.  a 
bushel  for  the  superior  wheat  of  this  fertile  Province," 
he  said,  in  May  1830,  "  paid  too  often  to  the  farmer  in 
goods  at  double  their  value,  we  now  find  the  miller 
and  the  merchant  eagerly  purchasing  grain  at  5s.,  and, 
in  some  places,  even  at  6s.  currency  per  sixty  pounds." 
As  a  commercial  speculation  the  work  was  not  des- 
tined  to   pay  the   stockholders ;    but  the   Province, 
which  became  the  proprietor  of  the  canal,  has  been 
amply  repaid  by  the  increased  value  given  to  its  pro- 
duce.    A  more  striking  example  of  this  fact  than  that 
given  by  Mr.  Mackenzie  need  not  be  desired.   So  well 
satisfied  was  he  with  the  result  of  the  internal  im- 
provements, so  far  made,  that  he  declared,  "  I  would 
cheerfully  consent  to  involve  the  Province  in  debt,  in 
conjunction  with  Lower  Canada,  in  order  to  improve 
the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  ocean."     Lower  Canada  had 
taken  the  lead  by  making  an  appropriation  for  the 
survey  of  the  St.  Lawrence  above  Montreal. 

Blares  elsewhere.  In  1830,  stockholders  in  Now  York  had  paid  in  £72,000; 
in  Lower  Canada,  £12,825;  and  in  U  aper  Canada  only  £2,462,  exclusive  of 
the  Legislative  subscription. 


ii 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


173 


f  t-^ 


CHAPTER    XII. 

The  Small  Libel  Suit — Mackenzie  Pleads  his  own  Cause  and  Succeeds — Din 
of  the  Electoral  Battle — Responsible  Governmont — Canada  compared  with 
othor  Countries — Rules  for  Elections — A  subdued  Black  List — The  Opposition 
to  Miiukenzie's  Re-election — The  Principles  on  which  he  Successfully  Ap- 
pealed to  the  People — The  Politics  of  Bank  Discounts — Success  of  the  Offi- 
cial Party  in  the  Election. 

In  writing  the  biography  of  one  who  had  many 
enemies  in  the  public  period  of  his  life,  while  some 
of  his  cotemporaries  are  still  living,  it  is  impossible 
to  avoid  the  revival  of  recollections  that  will  give  pain, 
or  cause  offence.  But  the  duty  of  the  impartial  bio- 
grapher is  plain.  While  it  should  be  his  study  not 
to  inflict  needless  wounds  upon  the  feelings  of  the 
Uviiig,  the  author  is  not  at  liberty  to  omit  prominent 
facts  which  are  essential  to  the  elucidation  of  his  sub- 
ject. It  is  my  aim,  in  dealing  with  events  that  may 
revive  unpleasant  recollections  in  the  minds  of  some 
of  the  actors,  to  present  the  facts  in  the  spirit  of  im- 
partial history,  free  from  rancor  or  animosity. 

When  Mr.  James  Edward  Small  appealed  to  the 
electors  of  York,  in  1828,  to  select  him  instead  of  Mr. 
Mackenzie,  a  story  affecting  his  professional  reputa- 
tion was  circulated  to  his  disadvantage.  Every  one 
loves  to  fmd  some  other  cause  for  his  want  of  success 
than  the  relative  merits  of  himself  and  his  opponent  j 


m 


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ti 


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1-: 


I 


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U  :<  ,  ■  k 


il  III 

i  h  , 


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Ml 


r; 


174 


LIFE   OF    MACKENZIE,  AND 


and  Mr.  Small  alleged  that  he  had  lost  the  election 
by  the  circulation  of  a  statement  affecting  his  profes- 
sional integrity.  He  stated,  on  the  hustings,  his  in- 
tention to  prosecute.  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  not  the 
author  or  retailer  of  the  alleged  slander,  Mr.  George 
Ridout,  Mr.  Small's  brother-in-law,  canvassed  Mr. 
James  Hogg,  of  Milford  Mills,  for  his  vote.  The 
miller  replied  that  he  could  not  vote  for  a  man  who 
had  cheated  or  defrauded  him  out  of  forty  or  fifty 
dollars.  Mr.  Hogg  was  prosecuted  for  slander.  He 
was  not  permitted  to  justify,  or  produce  evidence 
in  support  of  the  accusation.  T'le  jury  gave  Mr. 
Small  fifty  pounds  damages.  The  costs  swelled  the 
amount  to  £78  19s. 

The  story  had  been  told  by  Hogg  for  Mr.  Macken- 
zie's benefit — at  least  that  was  the  effect,  though  it 
was  probably  not  the  intention — and  he,  in  turn,  re- 
peated it,  on  the  strength  of  the  evidence  in  the  Hogg 
trial,  for  the  benefit  of  Mr.  Baldwin.  Mr.  Mackenzie 
was  prosecuted,  too,  but  with  a  very  different  result. 
The  alleged  libel  bore  date  November  25,  1829.  The 
evidence  in  the  former  trial,  which  formed  the  staple 
of  the  second  alleged  libel,  showed  that  one  Daniel 
McDougal  held  a  note  against  Hogg  for  £3  13s.,  "  pay- 
able in  liquor  at  the  market  price."  The  liquor  had 
not  been  taken,  and  the  question  was  M'hether  the  note 
could  be  collected.  Mr.  McDougal  called  to  consult 
Mr.  Small  on  the  matter.  The  lawyer  gave  an  opi- 
nion that  the  note,  if  sued  in  the  Court  of  King's 
Bench,  could  be  collected.  Mr.  McDougal  left  the 
note  w^th  Mr.  Small,  but  alleged  that  ho  ordered  him 
not  to  sue  or  make  costs  upon  it,  and  that  he  made  a 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


175 


second  visit  to  the  lawyer  to  repeat  these  instruc- 
tions. The  note  was  sued,  and  the  costs  reached 
£12.  Mr.  McDougal  further  stated  that  he  brought 
Mr.  Small  before  the  Court  of  Requests  to  compel  him 
to  pay  over  the  amount  of  the  verdict,  but  that  de- 
fendant pleading  his  privilege  as  a  barrister,  McDou- 
gal had  to  pay  the  costs,  and  was  kept  out  of  his 
money  still  longer.  Mr.  Mackenzie,  in  publishing 
this  statement,  reflected  upon  Mr.  Small  for  taking 
advantage  of  the  monstrous  maxim,  "  the  greater  the 
truth  the  greater  the  libel,"  arguing  that  the  proper 
^vay  for  a  man  to  wipe  a  stain  from  his  reputation 
was  "  not  by  £50  verdicts,  but  by  producing  and  ad- 
mitting all  the  facts,  but  utterly  disproving  the  charge 
made  against  him."*  The  alleged  libel  was  an  argu- 
ment upon  statements  sworn  to  in  a  suit  for  slander, 
and  so  far  from  being  charged  with  malignity,  it  con- 
tained such  admissions  as  this :  "  I  myself  have  had 
some  dealings  with  Mr.  Small,  and  altlvOi?;i;h  I  looked 
carefully  into  his  conduct  towards  me,  I  Ci'  hsppy  to 
testify  that  I  found  him  just  and  uon*  laide  !•  his 
dealings."  It  must  be  confessed  that.  It  the  e\  'dence 
of  Daniel  McDougal  could  be  relied  upon,  Mr.  k:!.t:iall 
had  taken  advantage  of  a  legal  maxim  tli-'o  has  since 
ceased  to  disgrace  the  laws  of  England. 

*  Jiulgo  Iliigerniim  told  tho  jury  that  if  thoj'  boliovod  that  Ilogg  had  used 
tlm  wdrds  complained  of,  they  must  find  a  verdict  for  Small ;  that  great  scan- 
dal had  heen  occasioned  to  tho  detriment  of  Small,  by  the  unwarrantable  con- 
duct of  Mr.  Hogg;  that  a  lawyer's  reputation  was  of  the  utmost  importance  to 
him  ill  his  profession  :  that  the  jury  must  discard  McDougal's  evidence,  tho--- 
ing  the  cause  of  Hogg's  using  these  expressions,  since  it  was  inndmissible ;  that 
McDmigal  ought  to  have  been  stopped  sooner  j  and  he  concluded  by  directing 
them  Id  give  a  verdict  for  tlio  plaintiff. 


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176 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE.  AND 


Such  was  the  alleged  libel,  which  came  to  trial  on 
the  8th  of  April,  1830.  A  special  jury  had  been  struck, 
at  the  instance  of  Mr.  Small.  Messrs.  Baldwin  and 
Sullivan  were  solicitors  for  Mr.  Mackenzie;  and  at 
one  time  it  was  his  intention  that  they  should  act  as 
his  advocates,  at  the  trial ;  but  he  finally  resolved  to 
be  his  own  advocate.  Mr.  Draper  appeared  for  Small. 
The  trial  lasted  from  half  past  nine  in  the  morning  to 
the  same  hour  at  night.  Four  hours  out  of  the  twelve 
were  taken  up  by  Mr.  Mackenzie's  address  to  the  jury. 
During  the  whole  time,  the  court-house  was  densely 
crowded.  Mr.  Justice  Sherwood  presided  ;  and  Mr. 
Mackenzie  has  commended  his  impartiality  on  the 
occasion.  The  Chief  Justice  and  the  Hon.  Mr.  Allan 
took  seats  beside  the  presiding  judge.  The  jury,* 
who  remained  out  all  night,  gave  a  verdict  for  the 
defendant ;  and  they  are  said  to  have  debated  among 
themselves  whether  it  was  not  competent  for  them  to 
award  damages  to  Mr.  Mackenzie  for  the  annoyance 
of  a  frivolous  prosecution. 

The  verdict  was  set  aside  by  the  Court  above,  on 
the  ground  that  the  witnesses  had  been  permitted  to 
say  too  much  in  the  way  of  justification.  But  Mr. 
Small,  far  from  thinking  it  desirable  to  push  this 
seeming  advantage,  was  willing  to  let  the  matter  rest 
where  it  was — the  costs  having  been  thrown  on  the 
defendant — but  Mr.  Mackenzie  desired  to  fight  the 
contest  to  its  natural  close.  With  that  view,  he 
offered  a  special  plea  in  justification;  but  the  judges, 

*  Their  names,  Messrs.  Joseph  Wixon,  Pickering;  Jas.  Pearson,  "Whit- 
church ;  Stilwell  "Wilson,  John  Chew,  and  Thos.  Bell,  of  York ;  "Wm.  Cornell, 
Scarboro' ;  John  Dalziel,  "Vaughnn ;  Christian  Keesor,  Markhum;  Joseph 
Sylvester,  "Vuughan,  and  John  Austin,  of  Toronto. 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


177 


on  application  of  Mr.  Small,  put  off  the  new  trial  till 
the  spring  of  1831.  A  general  election  was  to  take 
place  in  the  interim  :  and  it  was  destined  that  the 
new  trial  was  to  be  indefinitely  postponed,  Mr.  Small 
remaining  satisfied  with  his  first  defeat.  ' 

After  the  close  of  the  session  of  1830,  the  belief 
seems  to  have  generally  prevailed  that  the  Executive 
government  would  dissolve  a  House  which  had  been 
unanimous  in  asking  the  Lieutenant  Governor  to  dis- 
miss his  advisers.  The  death  of  the  King,  George  IV., 
settled  all  doubts  that  might  have  existed  on  this  head. 
But  before  the  intelligence  of  this  event  reached  Up- 
per Canada,  the  battle  cry  of  party  had  been  raised, 
in  anticipation  of  a  dissolution  of  tl/e  new  House.  In 
the  month  of  July,  Mr.  Mackenzie  addressed  a  series 
of  very  long  letters  to  Sir  John  Colborne,  Lieutenant 
Governor,  apparently  intended  to  influence  the  consti- 
tuencies. Several  columns  of  the  first  letter  were 
devoted  to  a  complaint  founded  on  the  accusations 
brought  by  the  government  press  against  the  loyalty 
of  the  Legislative  Assembly,  and  abuse  of  its  mem- 
bers.*   These  attacks  followed  closely  upon  the  pub- 

•  The  Upper  Canada  Courier,  published  by  the  late  Mr.  Gurnett,  described 
the  House,  as  a  "tyrant  gang  whose  hatred  is  levelled  at  all  loyal  subjects;" 
the  Speaker,  as  "  a  treacherous  plotter,"  whose  face  and  form  were  "spiteful 
nnd  bitter  as  the  venomed  asp;"  whose  heart  was  "the  home  of  every  evil 
passion,"  and  whose  "looks  betray  the  mawkish  hypocrite." 

" Mouthpiece  of  a  tyrant  gang,  (the  House  of  Assembly,) 

Whose  hatred  is  levelled  at  all  loyal  subjects. 

Poor  abject  creature,  of  a  rebel  race, 

I  scorn  thy  brief  and  undeserved  authority." 

And  again : 

"  A  thing  like  him  (the  Speaker)  will  only  breed  contempt, 
And  cause  our  House  to  prove  a  sceue  of  riot, 
23 


,;,! 


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178 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


lication  of  a  despatch  from  Sir  George  Murray,  Col- 
onial  Secretary,  to  Sir  James  Kemp,  Lieutenant  Gov- 
ernor of  Lower  Canada,  in  which  the  Imperial  Minis- 
ter inculcated  "  the  necessity  of  cultivating  a  spirit  of 
conciliation  towards  the  House  of  Assembly  ;"  plainly 
showing  the  feelings  of  the  British  government  on  the 
subject.  After  collecting  a  long  list  of  accusations 
against  the  dominant  party  in  the  Assembly,  Mr. 
Mackenzie  met  them  by  quoting  the  remark  of  a 
*'  celebrated  politician,"  that,  "  by  this  means,  like  the 
husband  who  uses  his  wife  ill  from  suspidon,  you 
may  in  time  convert  your  suspicions  into  reality." 
But  before  he  had  completed  the  scries,  he  met  the 
charge  of  disloyalty  brought  against  the  Legislative 
Assembly  and  the  party  it  more  particularly  repre- 
sented, in  direct  terms.  "  The  people  of  this  Province," 
he  said,  "  neither  desire  to  break  up  their  ancient  con- 
nection with  Groat  Britain,  nor  are  they  anxious  to 
become  members  of  the  North  American  Confedera- 
tion ;  all  they  want  is  a  cheap,  frugal,  domestic  gov- 
ern munt,  to  be  exercised  for  their  benefit  and  controlled 
by  their  own  fixed  land-marks ;  they  seek  a  system  by 
•vhich   to   insure  justice,  protect   property,  establish 

Uproar,  ard  noisfi      A  theatre  for  spouting 
DiscJsting  trash  and  scurvy  billingsgate, 
The  acoff  iii.d  scorn  of  M  who      tncss  it. 

"Devoid  of  dignity,  address,  and  manners, 
H«*  spems  a  thing  unworthy  to  preside 
O'er  doating  fools  who  loiter  at  camp  meetings, 
To  hear  old  women  prate  in  mawkish  pV.raaes. 

*'  Out  upon  them  (the  House  of  Assembly) ;  shouldst  thou  choose  him 
(Mr.  Bid  well)  Speaker, 
Thou'lt  prove  thysolves  a  base  and  shamoljss  faction. 
Disgraceful  both  to  government  and  people." 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


179 


domestic  tranquillity,  and  afford  a  reasonable  prospect 
that  civil  and  religious  liberty  will  be  perpetuated, 
and  the  safety  and  happiness  of  society  effected."  It 
was  one  of  Mr.  Mackenzie's  complaints,  that  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Executive  government  were  not  responsi- 
ble to  the  people  of  Canada,  through  their  repre- 
sentatives ;  and  that  there  was  no  way  of  bringing 
tlicui  to  account  for  their  conduct.  When  the  election 
contest  approached  more  nearly  he  put  forward  re- 
spundible  government  as  a  principal  of  vital  import- 
ance. As  a  needful  reform,  he  placed  it  on  a  level 
with  the  necessity  of  purging  the  Legislative  Coun- 
cil of  the  sworn  creatures  and  dependents  of  the 
Executive,  who  comprised  the  great  majority.  Of 
Upper  Canada  politicians,  we  are  entitled  to  place 
Mr.  Mackenzie  among  the  very  earliest  advocates  of 
responsible  government.*  It  is  doubtless  true  that 
others  afterwards  made  the  attainment  of  this  principle 
of  administration  more  of  a  specialty  than  he  did ;  for 
where  abuses  grew  up  with  rank  luxuriance,  he  could 

♦  In  September,  1830,  he  put  forth  the  following  programme,  and  after- 
wards frequently  repeated  its  publication  : 

"  To  insure  good  government,  with  the  aid  of  a  faithful  people,  the  follow- 
ing five  things  are  essential  : 

"1.  The  entire  control  of  the  whole  Provincial  revenues  are  required  to  bo 
vested  in  the  Legislature — the  territorial  and  hereditary  rev.  .lues  excepted. 

"2.  The  independence  of  the  judges;  or  their  removal  to  take  place,  only 
upon  a  joint  address  of  the  two  Houses,  and  their  appointment  from  among 
men  who  have  not  embarked  in  the  political  business  of  the  Province. 

"3.  A  reform  in  the  Legislative  Council,  which  is  now  an  assembly  chief- 
ly composed  of  persons  wholly  or  partly  dependent  upon  the  Executive  gov- 
ernment for  their  support. 

"4.  An  administration  or  Executive  government  responsible  to  the  Province 
for  its  conduct. 

"5.  Equal  rights  to  each  religious  denomination,  and  an  exclusion  of  every 
sect  from  a  participation  in  temporal  power." 


:l^: 


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if 


: 


180 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


not  help  pausing  to  cut  them  down  in  detail.  The  in- 
dependence of  the  judiciary,  for  which  he  persistently- 
contended,  has,  like  responsible  government,  long 
since  been  attained ;  and  indeed,  the  somewhat  fanci- 
ful idea  of  making  judges  only  of  persons  who  have 
never  dabbled  in  the  muddy  waters  of  colonial  poli- 
tics is  the  only  change  which  he  put  prominently  for- 
ward, in  1830,  that  has  not  now  been  long  in  the  enjpy- 
ment  of  Canadians. 

His  letters  to  Sir  John  Colborne  are  not  free  from 
remarks  to  which  a  general  consent  would  not  now  be 
given.     In  drawing  up  an  indictment,  containing  a 
hundred  counts  against  the  administration,  the  consti- 
tution was  not  always  spared ;  but  the  system  of  ad- 
ministration, then  pursued,  would  now  find  no  sup- 
porters in  this  Province;  and  if  we  were  obliged  to 
believe  that  it  was  constitutional  to  sustain  in  power 
a  ministry  condemned   by  the   unanimous  voice  of 
the  people's  representatives,  the  necessity  for  consti- 
tutional reform  would  be  universally  insisted  on.    If 
the  British  government  and  even  the  British  consti- 
tution came  in  for  a  share  of  condemnation,  it  must 
be  remembered  that  the  oligarchical  system,  which 
reduced  the  popular  branch  of  the  Legislature  to  a 
nullity,  was  sustained  by  the  Imperial  Government; 
and  that  the  Reform  Bill  of  Lord  John  Russell  had 
not  yet  been  passed. 

The  letters  to  the  Lieutenant  Governor  were  imme- 
diately followed  by  ^^An  appeal  to  the  people  of  Upper 
Canada  from  the  judgments  of  British  and  Colonial  Go- 
vernments.^^ This  "Appeal"  was  one  of  the  mildest 
productions  Mr.  Mackenzie  ever  wrote.     Free  from 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


181 


personalities,  it  consisted  entirely  of  an  appeal  to  the 
reason  and  the  better  feelings  of  the  people.  But  no 
description  would  convey  so  good  an  idea  of  it  as  a, 
few  extracts ;  and  for  that  reason  I  resort  to  the  latter 
method.  Addressing  the  farmers  of  the  country,  he 
shows  his  love  for  Canada  by  comparing  it  with  other 
countries:  '      ' '      •  '   '  ^ 

"  A  kind  Providence  hath  cast  your  lot  in  a  highly 
favored  land,  where,  blessed  with  luxuriant  harvests 
and  a  healthful  climate,  you  are  enabled  to  look  back 
without  regret  upon  the  opulent  nations  of  Europe, 
where  the  unbounded  wealth  of  one  class,  and  the 
degrading  poverty  of  another,  afford  melancholy  proofs 
of  the  tyranny  which  prevails  in  their  governments. 
Compare  your  situation  with  that  of  Russia,  an  empire 
embracing  one  half  of  the  habitable  globe,  the  popula- 
tion of  which  are  slaves  attached  to  the  soil,  and  trans- 
ferable to  any  purchaser;  or  with  Germany,  Italy, 
Portugal,  and  Spain,  where  human  beings  are  born 
and  die  under  the  same  degrading  vassalage.     Tra- 
verse the  wide  world  and  what  will  you  find?    In  one 
place,  a  privation  of  liberty ;  in  another,  incapacity  to 
make  use  of  its  possession ;  here,  ignorance,  vice,  and 
political  misrule ;  there,  an  immense  number  of  your 
fellow  men,  forced  from  their  peaceful  homes  and  oc- 
cupations -  to  fight  battles  in  the  issue  of  which  they 
have  no  interest,  to  increase  a  domain  in  the  posses- 
sion of  which  they  can  have  no  share.'    Contrast  their 
situation  with  yours,  and  let  the  peaceful  plains,  the 
fertile  valleys  of  Canada,  your  homes,  the  homes  of 
your  wives  and  children,  be  still  more  dear  to  you. 
Agriculture,  the  most  innocent,  happy,  and  important 


I      :| 


mil  ] 


i[; 


182 


LIFE   OP   MACKENZIE,   AND 


.-i 


M 


of  all  human  pursuits,  is  your  chief  employment;  your 
farms  are  your  own ;  you  have  obtained  a  competence, 
seek  therewith  to  be  content. 


•'■I'- 


ll 


"  'Oonterttinont,  rosy,  dimpled  maid,  *' 

Thou  brightest  daui^htor  of  the  sky, 
Why  dost  thou  to  tho  hut  repair, 

And  from  tho  gilded  pulHco  fly  ?  ' 

I've  traced  thee  on  the  peosunt  s  cheek;  ;i  i  , 

I've  marked  thee  in  the  milkmaid's  smilo; 
I've  heard  thco  loudly  lauffh  and  speak, 

Amid  the  sons  of  noonday  toil ;  ' 

Yet  i    tho  circles  of  the  great,  .    '■,< 

"Wl.  are  fortune's  gifts  are  all  combined, 
I've  sought  thee  early,  sought  thee  late, 

And  no'er  thy  lovely  form  could  find,  ' 

Since  then  from  wealth  and  pomp  you  flee,  .'  ,; 

I  ask  but  competence  and  thee !'  " 

The  plea  of  poverty — which  is  very  liable  to  lead 
to  corruption — aj;  an  excuse  for  not  attending  the  poll, 
he  rae+  by  saying: — "Poor,  indeed,  in  soul  or  in  sub* 
stance  must  that  farmer  or  mechanic  be,  who,  being  in 
health,  cannot,  in  two  or  four  years,  spare  time  for  one 
day's  journey  to  the  hustings  to  express  anopinion  by  his 
vote,  concerning  the  persons  chosen  to  watch  over  the 
public  welfare."  Far  from  having  any  desire  to  change 
the  monarchical  for  a  republican  form  of  government, 
he  said: — "It  is  not  a  change  in  the  form  of  govern- 
ment which  will  remove  any  difficulties  or  grievances 
under  which  you  labor;"  and  so  little  did  he  flatter 
the  people,  that  he  told  them  "  The  grand  panacea  is 
self- reformation."  He  went  further:  "Beware,"  he 
said,  "of  electioneering  sycophants!  for  if  they  flatter 
you,  they  will  assuredly  flatter  power  after  you  elect 
them."  Never  were  truer  words  spoken,  or  more 
necessary  advice  given.     Of  the  further  rules  he  gave 


'At  , 


THE   CANADIAN   KEBELLION. 


183 


for  the  selection  of  representatives,  the  following  are 
not  worthless  specimens: 

"If  you  find  a  lawyer  who  has  tried  to  fill  his  neigh- 
borhood with  litigation — who  is  more  famed  for  gain- 
ing causes  than  for  scrupulous  virtue  in  accepting 
their  management,  he  is  'a  minister  of  municipal  liti- 
jration,  and  the  fomenter  of  village  vexation,' — avoid 
him.  But  wherever  a  lawyer  can  be  found  among 
you,  worthy  of  the  high  vocation  reto  he  has  been 
called — learned,  industrious,  and  i^cuhful — less  anxious 
for  the  fees  of  ofl&ce  than  for  the  peace  of  society — al- 
ways willing  to  embark  in  the  most  perilous  duties  of 
his  profession,  the  protection  of  property,  personal 
rights,  domestic  peace,  and  parental  authority,  entreat 
him  to  come  forward  as  a  candidate;  elect  him  with 
acclamation;  he  will  surely  maintain  your  rights,  and 
stand  as  a  sentinel  upon  the  watch-tower  of  Freedom, 
to  warn  you  of  approaching  danger.*  Men  whose  con- 
duct, in  their  private  dealings  with  their  fellows, 
has  been  found  to  be  regulated  by  covetous,  un- 
christian, selfish  principles,  will  be  sure  to  make  dis- 
honest and  unprincipled  legislators;  for  how  can  he 
who  takes  daily  advantage  of  the  necessities  or  the 
follies  of  his  brother,  be  a  lover  of  mankind,  benevo- 
lent, and  kind?  Mind  not  his  boasted  patriotism,  nor 
his  exclamations  against  existing  abuses ;  for  there  is 
guile  in  his  heart  and  deceit  on  his  lips." 

Against  the  votes  of  members  during  the  late  Par- 
liament, there  was  much  less  to  be  said,  from  Mr. 

•  There  is  reason  to  believe  that,  in  giving  this  description,  Mr.  Mackenzie 
had  Dr.  Rolph  in  his  mind ;  for  he  had  previously  spoken  of  him  in  nearly 
equivalent  terms. 


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184 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


Mackenzie's  point  of  view  than  against  those  of  their 
immediate  predecessors.  The  Black  List — a  running 
commentary  upon  prominent  votes — was  therefore 
meagre  and  comp^rativelj'^  feeble. 

Mr.  Mackenzie's  re-election  for  York  was  opposed 
by  nearly  every  newspaper  in  the  country ;  and  the 
few  that  did  not  oppose,  remained  silent.  Some  car- 
ried the  virulence  of  personal  abuse  to  an  extent  that 
caused  him  to  complain  of  injustice;  but  he  would 
neither  condescend  to  reply  nor  to  meet  his  assailants 
with  their  own  weapons.  He  would  not  reply,  "  be- 
cause^"  as  he  said,  "  he  thinks  that  his  conduct,  during 
his  political  career  of  seven  years,  has  sufficiently 
enabled  the  people  to  judge  of  the  value  which  ought 
to  be  attached  to  such  productions."  The  county  of 
York  returned  two  members ;  and  of  the  four  candi- 
dates on  this  occasion,  two  represented  the  opposition, 
and  two  the  official  party.  On  the  liberal  interest 
stood  Mr.  Mackenzie  and  Mr.  Jesse  Ketehum ;  op- 
posed to  them  were  Mr.  Simon  Washburn  and  Mr. 
Thornie.  So  far  did  Mr.  Mackenzie  carry  his  sense  of 
fairness  that  he  publicly  announced  that  he  would 
"  abstain  from  using  the  press  as  a  medium  of  injur- 
ing, in  the  public  estimation,"  whoever  might  be  op- 
posed to  him  as  candidates ;  an  English-like  love  of 
honor  and  fair-play  that  might  be  copied  to  advantage 
in  the  present  day.  "  He  was,"  he  said,  "  anxious  to 
gain  his  election,  more  as  a  triumph  of  principle,  than 
as  a  personal  gratification.  He  will,  therefore,  neither 
keep  open  houses,  bring  voters  to  the  hustings,  nor  in 
any  way  treat,  entertain,  or  recompense  any  electors, 
either  before,  at,  or  after  the  polling.     His  return 


THE   CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


186 


(should  he  be  elected)  must  be  the  deliberate  result 
of  public  opinion  alone,  opposed,  as  it  would  be,  to 
the  powerful  influence  of  the  local  government,  the 
dominant  priesthood,  the  provincial  bank,  and  every 
human  being  who  profits  by  the  present  irresponsible 
system."*  On  this  ground  he  put  the  contest ;  and 
the  result  f  justified  his  confident  anticipations.  -_ 

The  new  HouseJ  met  on  the  7th  of  January,  1831. 

*  Shortly  before  the  election  came  on,  Mr.  Mackenzie  had  given  "  Keasons," 
occupying  four  newspaper  columns,  "  why  the  farmers  and  mechanics  should 
keep  a  sharp  look-out  upon  the  Bank  [of  Upper  Canada]  and  its  managers." 
These  reasons  were  based  upon  the  refusal  of  the  officers  of  the  Bank,  in  the 
previous  session,  to  answer  the  inquiries  on  numerous  points  of  a  parliamen- 
tary committee ;  on  the  statement,  in  evidence  of  Mr.  B.  Baldwin,  that  notea 
had  been  discounted  and  refused  discount  from  political  reasons  ;  on  the  pal- 
pable defects  which  then  existed  in  the  charter,  defects  which  were  such  as 
even  then  no  economist  or  good  business  man  in  Europe  would  have  thought 
of  defending.  In  order  to  exclude  Mr.  Mackenzie  from  the  last  annual  meet- 
ing proxies  had  been  refused. 

t  The  result  of  the  polling  was :  For  Ketchum,  616 ;  Mackenzie,  670;  Wash- 
burn, 426 ;  Thome,  248. 

X  The  following  are  members  returned  with  the  places  they  represented : 


QUngary. — Alex.    McMartin     and 
Alexander  Fraser. 

Slormont. — Archd.  McLean  and  P. 
Vankoughnet. 

Dundat. — John    Cook    and    Peter 
Shaver. 

OrenvilU. — Bichard  D.  Fraser  and 
Edward  Jessup. 

Leed». — William  Buell,  jr.  and  Matt. 
M.  Howard. 

Brockville. — Henry  Jones. 

Carleton. — John  Bower  Lewis. 

Lanark.—  William  Morris. 

Frontenac. — Hugh  C*  Thomson  and 
John  Campbell. 

Kingtton,  (Town), — Christopher  A. 
Hagerman. 
24 


Ha»ting». — Reuben  White  and  Jas. 
H.  Samson.  '' 

Lmnox  and  Addinffton, — Marshall  S. 
Bidwell  and  Peter  Perry. 

Northumberland. — James  Lyon  and 
Archibald  McDonald. 

Durham. — John  Brown  and  George 
S.  Boulton. 

York,  (rotcn).  — William  Botsford 
Jarvis. 

York,  {County), — Jesse  Ketchum  and 
William  L.  Mackenzie. 

Simcoe. — William  B.  Bobinson. 

MiddUtex.  — Mahlon  Burwell  and 
Boswell  Mount. 

Norfolk. — Duncan  McCall  and  Wm. 
Willson. 


II     ' 


I  'I 


i    :! 


:  = 


i 


186 


LIFE  OF  MACKENZIE,  AND 


No  previous  Assembly  had  committed  half  as  many 
follies  as  the  one  that  now  met  for  the  first  time  was 

W)  perpetraiie.       _j    1*>V5»»    l/hu-  tt»   :jv\fnxfii\i    kitt  iv-r[itKi    o^t 

Oxford. — Ohas.  Ingersoll  and  Obas.      Halton. — Wm.  Chisholm  and  Jamci 
Buncombe.  ')y?:»'Hl  •>ijj      Crooks. 

Kent. — William  Berczy.  Niagara,  {Tovm). — Henry   J.  Boul- 

Eitex. — William  Elliott  and  Jean  ton. 
B.  Magon.  .« j  I'H  ;  Lincoln. — Bobt.  Bandal,  John  Clark, 

Wentworth. — John  "Willson  and  Al-  "William  Crooks,  and  Bartholomew  C. 
Ian  N.  McNab.  ,  Beardsley.  > 

■  -■  /■  '-.Isiiri^iiK  .' if^      Haldimand. — John  Brant. 


•  it  •iir..'l'ii«i    i;    !. 


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.-.'I.    ii.u',  •■■/•■;'//      ; !    i'  .<i--   . ',    ;      '>  iiiTt.      ,  i.  ■.■•  I  *  ■■//.     .  >.  •i>\,_.>jr,;jv 

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''  '  ''"n 

THE  CANAI>IAN  BEB|:LLIO|f. 


187 


.;  1  :  iffiiii' '>•{<{{) -^rl';  al'ao-^m  Mio^komUlMHtm^l'':HU,7\lk■ 
il"<\    .It    tuJuiUfKjb  v/<»]H'  "^^fiKv  'ulh  him   ;pfe4H'H    '>ilr 

CHAPTER   XIII.       ,,  ,    ,r 

Meeting  of  the  New  House — The  Official  Party  elect  Mr.  McLean  Speaker — 
The  Chaplain  and  State  Church  Question — Cause  of  the  Party  Revolution — 
Power  of  the  Purse — State  of  the  Representation — Mackenzie  obtains  a  Com- 
mittee upon  it — Officials  and  Dependants  on  the  Executive  in  the  House- 
Grants  of  Public  Lands  to  Members  of  the  House — Cheering  in  the  Galleries 
of  the  Assembly — Permanent  Civil  List  first  Granted — Mackenzie  inquires 
into  the  Public  Expenditure,  and  becoues  a  Thorn  in  the  Side  of  the  Official 
Party — Bank  Mysteries  made  Public — Unsuccessful  Attempt  to  expel  Mac- 
kenzie for  distributing  Copies  of  the  Journals  of  tho  House  at  his  own  ex- 
pense— Mr.  McNttb  tries  to  pay  off  tho  Grudge  of  his  previous  Imprison- 
ment— Scheme  of  Representative  Reform — Undue  Influence  of  the  Execu- 
tive on  the  Legislative  Council — Mackenzie  starts  an  Ag'tation  for  Respon- 
sible Government  and  other  Reforms — Petitions  to  the  Imperial  Authorities 
—Journey  to  Quebec — Siiipwrecked  in  the  Ice  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 

Mi.  I 

The  first  trial  of  party  strength,  in  the  new  House, 
showed  that  the  majority  had  passed  to  the  official 
side.  It  was  then  the  habit  of  the  Upper  Canada  As- 
sembly, as  it  is  now  that  of  United  Canada,  to  change 
the  Speaker  with  every  revolution  of  party.  The  re- 
election of  Mr.  Bidwell,  by  the  new  House,  was  out 
of  the  question ;  and  Mr.  Archibald  McLean  became 
his  successor,  on  a  vote  of  twenty -six  against  four- 
teen. He  was  the  first  native  Canadian  elected  to  the 
chair  of  the  Upper  Canada  Assembly.  His  father 
had  emigrated  from  Argyleshire,  Scotland ;  and  the 
son  had,  in  previous  local  parliaments,  allied  himself 
with  the  Official  or  Family  Compact  party.    Person- 


f 

...I:  a.  AlAL^ 


i88 


LIFE   OF    MACKENZIE,   AND 


ally,  he  was  not  obnoxious,  even  to  the  opposition  ;  and 
his  pleasing  address  was  much  in  his  favor.  But  his 
election  indicated  a  complete  change  in  the  politics  of 
the  House;  and  the  party  now  dominant  in  both 
branches  of  the  Legislature,  as  well  as  in  the  govern- 
ment, was  liiubject  to  no  check  whatever.  The  way  in 
which  it  ibused  its  power,  will  hereafter  be  seen. 

Early  in  the  session,  Mr.  Mackenzie  brought  for- 
ward a  resolution  re-affirming  the  right  of  the  House 
to  appoint  its  own  chaplain,  and  denying  that  the  Ex- 
ecutive government  had  been  entrusted  with  the  power 
to  prescribe  the  religious  duties,  exercises,  or  cere- 
monies of  the  House,  or  to  incorporate  with  the  tenets 
of  any  particular  sect  the  institutions  of  the  country. 
In  Lower  Canada,  where  the  majority  of  the  popula- 
tion, and  of  the  Legislative  Assembly,  was  Roman 
Catholic,  the  House  had  no  chaplain.  But  this  was 
not  necessarily  the  result  of  the  denominational  com- 
plexion of  the  population  ;  for  Upper  Canada  was  the 
only  British  American  Province  where  the  govern- 
ment undertook  to  appoint  a  chaplain  -o  the  Legisla- 
tive Assembly.  Even  in  Nova  Scotia,  where  the 
Church  of  England  was  fully  established,  the  popular 
branch  of  the  Legislature  claimed  and  exercised  the 
right  of  appointing  its  own  chaplain.  The  legal  es- 
tablishment of  the  Church  of  England  in  Canada  was 
contested ;  and  it  was  chiefly  as  a  protest  against  the 
assumption  that  it  occupied  such  a  position,  that  Mr. 
Mackenzie  brought  up  this  question,  session  after  ses- 
sion. If  the  Church  of  England  was  not  securely 
established,  as  a  State  Church,  it  had  made  some 
not  unsuccessful  efforts  at  dominancy.    It  claimed  a 


V 


THE  CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


189 


seventh  of  all  the  granted  lands  m  the  Province.  It 
bad  obtained  control  of  the  University  of  King's  Col- 
lege, at  York  ;  and  it  had  obtruded  a  chaplain  on  an 
unwilling  House  of  Assembly.  In  the  temper  of  the 
new  House,  no  decision  could  be  got  upon  the  ques- 
tion raised  by  Mr.  Mackenzie.  It  was  superseded  by 
a  motion,  brought  forward  by  ex-Speaker  Willson, 
"  that  the  question  be  not  now  put."  Mr.  Mackenzie 
then  moved  that  a  request  be  presented  to  the  min- 
isters of  the  different  denominations,  in  York,  to  say 
prayers  in  the  House,  during  the  session,  under  such 
arrangements  as  the  Speaker  might  make ;  but  a  large 
majority  of  the  members — about  three-fourths — ^re- 
fused to  entertain  the  question,  and  the  subject  was 
referred  to  a  committee,  consisting  of  Messrs.  McNab, 
Willson,  and  Samson.  In  the  course  of  the  debate, 
Solicitor  General  Hagerman  threatened  the  House 
with  "  confusion,"  and  that  "  an  end  would  be  put  to 
their  proceedings,"  if  they  ventured  to  oppose  the 
wishes  of  the  Lieutenant  Governor.  Attorney  Gen- 
eral Boulton  compared  the  assumption  of  the  House, 
of  the  right  to  appoint  its  own  chaplain,  with  the  right 
of  the  assassin  who  shoots  down  a  man  in  the  street — 
the  exercise  of  mere  brute  force.  And  the  House  ac- 
cepted the  argument,  and  bowed  before  the  menace.  * 
It  was  already  evident  that  Mr.  Mackenzie  had  lost 
in  the  new  House  the  influence  he  had  exercised  in 
that  which  the  Executive — unable  to  find  in  it  a  single 
friend  in  need — ^had  caused  to  be  dissolved.  Instead 
of  praying  for  a  removal  of  the  ministry,  as  on  the 
previous  occasion,  the  Address  of  the  House  was  a 


1?^ 


'^i 


^'1 


'  I 


..^1 


190 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


mere  echo  of  the  speech  with  which  the  Lieutenant 
Governor  had  opened  the  session.  *iwi'v->^i....w.,Mi  *- 
"  It  is  impossible  to  note  the  change  in  the  character 
of  the  House  produced  by  the  election  of  1830,  with- 
out inquiring  to  what  possible  causes  so  extraordinary 
a  party  revolution  was  attributable.  The  enigma 
seems  to  be  not  wholly  incapable  of  solution.  The 
opposition  to  the  Executive,  in  the  previous  House, 
had  gone  far  to  abolish  all  party  lines.  Very  few 
members,  who  served  from  1828  to  1830,  had  any  se- 
rious political  sins  to  answer  for,  in  respect  to  that 
period.  The  purse-strings  were  held  by  the  Execu- 
tive. Holding  the  crown  revenues  independent  of  the 
Legislature,  it  could  wield  the  influence  which  money 
gives ;  and,  in  a  young  colony,  poor  and  struggling, 
this  was  necessarily  considerable.  The  state  of  the 
representation  was,  in  some  respects,  worse  than  that  in 
the  unreformed  House  of  Commons.  The  session  was 
not  very  old  when  Mr.  Mackenzie  moved  for  a  com- 
mittee of  inquiry  on  the  subject.  When  he  rose  to 
address  the  House,  a  collector  of  customs  sat  at  his 
elbow,  and  another  of  these  ofl&cers  was  contesting  the 
election  of  a  member  who  held  office  under  the  Exe- 
cutive during  pleasure ;  while  the  Speaker  whom  he 
addressed  held  the  office  of  Clerk  of  the  Crown  in  the 
district  where  he  lived.  In  England,  a  postmaster 
could  not  vote  for  a  candidate  seeking  a  seat  in  the 
unreformed  Parliament;  half  a  dozen  postmasters 
held  seats  in  the  Upper  Canada  Assembly.  There 
were,  besides,  office-holders  of  almost  every  grade :  a 
Sheriff,  Inspectors  of  still  and  tavern  licenses,  County 
Registers,  and  Commissioners  of  Customs.    If  any 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


191 


one  is  innocent  enough  to  suppose  that  this  crowd  of 
ofl&cials  could  make  independent  representatives,  a  re- 
collection of  the  fate  of  Mr.  Fothergill  will  serve  to 
undeceive  him.     Mr.  Fothergill  had  been  dismissed 
from  the  office  of  King's  Printer,  on  account  of  the 
independent  position   he  had  taken  in  the  House. 
Capt.  Matthews,  of  the  Royal  Navy,  had  been  tempo- 
rarily deprived  of  his  pension,  through  the  complaints 
of  spies,  who  made  it  a  subject  of  serious  complaint 
against  him  that,  when  he  had  indulged  too  freely  in 
wine  at  dinner,  he  had  thoughtlessly  or  imprudently 
called  on  the  orchestra  to  give  "  Yankee  Doodle,"  in 
the  little  theatre  of  York.    Mr.  Mackenzie,  with  his 
colleague  for  York  and  the  member  for  Lanark,  re- 
presented a  larger  number  of  people  than  fifteen  other 
members.     There  was  more  than  one  member  whose 
whole  constituency  did  not  number  over  twenty  or 
thirty  votes.     The  county  of  York,  which  had  two  re- 
presentatives, contained  more  people  than  Hastings, 
Dundas,  Haldimand,   Niagara,   and   Brockville.     A 
majority  of  the  whole  House  represented  less  than  a 
third  of  the  population  ;  and  if  property  were  taken 
into  account  as  a  basis  of  representation,  the  matter 
would  be  still  worse.     Members  of  this  House  and  its 
predecessor  had  obtained  grants  of  crown  lands,  over 
which  the  Executive  and  not  the  Legislature  held  con- 
trol, to  the  extent  of  from  five  hundred  to  two  thou- 
sand acres,*  on  simply  paying  the  fees  exacted  by  the 
officials.    With  great  force  Mr.  Mackenzie  urged  these 
facts,  for  the  most  part  discreditable,  as  a  reason  for 

*  These  grants  were  probably  legal.    The  objection  was  to  the  system  which 
permitted  of  abuse.     -    .        ■  .  ■ 


192 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


inquiring  into  the  state  of  the  representation.  On  h 
vote  of  twenty-eight  against  eleven  the  House  granted 
the  committee ;  and  after  two  attempts  on  the  part  of 
the  officials  and  their  friends  to  break  the  force  of  the 
conclusion  arrived  at,  Mr.  Mackenzie  got  a  committee 
of  his  own  nomination,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Shaver, 
Howard,  Buell,  Lyons,  and  himself.  ?  ?n  .*; 

y  Even  when  his  speeches  did  not  move  the  House, 
they  sometimes  caused  the  galleries  to  respond  with 
involuntary  cheers.  One  instance  of  his  forcible  way 
of  putting  things  will  show  the  secret  power  that 
brought  these  dangerous  responses  from  beyond  the 
bar.  Mr.  Burwell  had  proposed  to  grant  a  life  pen- 
sion to  the  widow  of  one  of  the  leading  public  offi- 
cers, when  Mr.  Mackenzie  opposed  the  proposition  in 

these  terms: —  ..    i     .,  .  .   

"He  objected  to  the  introduction  of  a  pension  list 
of  this  kind,  because  if  it  were  admitted  that  the  lady 
of  one  public  functionary  had  a  right  to  a  pension,  it 
would  follow  that  others  had  the  same  right,  and  gen- 
tlemen holding  lucrative  situations  would  depend  on 
the  public  and  squander  more  profusely  their  ample 
incomes.  A  man  came  from  Scotland  with  a  most 
excellent  character,  expended  all  he  had  to  bring  him- 
self, a  wife,  and  large  family  to  these  shores;  had 
Lord  Bathurst's  letter  in  his  pocket  deluding  him 
with  the  hopes  of  a  grant  of  land,  found  it  a  decep- 
tion, and  went  back  into  the  bush  upon  a  reserve  to 
combat  ill  health,  poverty,  and  disappointment.  The 
Lieutenant  Governor  and  Council  would  do  nothing 
for  this  poor  man  ;  his  wife,  separated  from  her  friends, 
pined  and  died ;  her  husband  had  a  few  hours  before 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


193 


come  to  inform  him,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  that  she 
had  been  that  very  day  coflBned.  Was  it  to  be  borne 
that  while  respectable  emigrants  were  thus  made  the 
sport  of  a  faction  in  the  colony  as  pitiless  as  death 
itself,  that  the  rich,  the  wealthy,  the  opulent,  they  who 
had  obtained  and  doubtless  well  deserved  thousands 
of  acres  of  public  lands  and  thousands  of  pounds  of 
public  money,  should  now,  at  the  eleventh  hour,  come 
forward  and  seek  pensions  out  of  the  hard  earnings  of 
British  emigrants? — and  that  where  British  settlers 
with  empty  pockets  were  told  to  buy  land  at  its  high- 
est price  and  pay  with  interest  for  leave  to  live  in 
a  wilderness,  ladies  of  fortune  and  high  connection 
should  receive  pensions  out  of  the  public  bounty  ?  It 
might  be  fashionable  in  Britain,  but  was  quite  unfit 
for  Canada." 

The  utterance  of  these  words  was  followed  by  clap- 
ping of  hands  and  cheering  in  the  galleries,  which 
produced  a  motion  ordering  that  strangers  should  be 
required  to  withdraw.  The  ebullition  of  feeling  ap- 
peared to  have  been  uncontrollable,  and  after  a  dis- 
cussion on  the  subject,  in  secret  session,  the  public 
was  re-admitted.        r        o       ••     »,  ;      ,  ,,  ;> '  r?,;A 

During  this  occasion  a  permanent  Civil  List  of 
£6,500  was  granted.  £8,000  had  been  asked  from 
the  House,  by  the  Imperial  Government,  which,  at 
this  time,  surrendered  its  interest  in  certain  duties, 
estimated  at  £11,500  a  year,  levied  under  Imperial 
statute,  and  which  had  previously  been  applied  to  the 
support  of  the  civil  government.  The  Civil  List  granted 
in  return  for  these  revenues  provided  for  the  salaries 
of  the  Governor,  the  Judges  of  the  Court  of  Queen's 

25 


M' 


If 


I  1 


f 


:;a 


•i 


194 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,    AND 


Bench,  the  Attorney  and  the  Solicitor  General,  five 
Executive  Councillors,  and  the  Clerk  of  the  Executive 
Council  *  The  revenue  now  ceded  had  recently  made 
the  Executive  independent,  in  money  matters,  of  the 
House ;  and  as  there  was  no  other  means  of  making 
the  advisers  of  the  representative  of  the  Crown  re- 
sponsible to  the  Legislature,  the  granting  of  a  perma- 
nent Civil  List  was  looked  upon,  by  the  Reform  party, 
as  another  means  of  perpetuating  that  immunity  from 
control,  which  the  Executive  enjoyed,  and  which  was 
the  source  of  so  many  evils.  There  was  no  reason  to 
expect  that  the  Legislature  would  long  have  remained 
satisfied  to  permit  these  revenues  to  be  disposed  of 
without  its  sanction;  for,  though  they  were  raised 
under  Imperial  statute,  they  were  paid  by  the  Pro- 
vince, and  were  in  their  nature  essentially  local.  The 
Legislative  Assembly,  if  armed  with  the  power  of 
annually  voting  the  salaries  of  the  members  of  the 
government,  might,  Mr.  Mackenzie  and  those  who 
acted  with  him  thought,  have  some  control  over  them. 
If  the  government  had  been  responsible  to  the  Legis- 
lature, this  ground  of  opposition  to  what  received  the 
name  of  the  "  Everlasting  Salaries  Bill,"  would,  in  all 
probability,  not  have  been  taken,  because  the  object 
which  the  opposition  sought  to  accomplish  would  have 
been  more  effectually  obtained  by  other  means.  The 
vote  upon  the  question  was  a  strictly  party  vote,  and 
it  is  very  certain  that,  under  the  conditions  of  go- 


it; 


•The  salaries  were:  Lieutenant  Governor,  £2,000  sterling;  Judges  of  the 
Court  of  King's  Bencli,  altogether,  £3,300  sterling;  Attorney  and  Solicitor 
General,  £600  sterling,  each  ;  Five  Executive  Councillors,  £500  sterling,  each; 
Clerk  of  the  Executive  Council,  £200  sterling.  ^  >  / '  ■  r  •  -,-;  i  j  ,\U 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


195 


vernnicnt  which  then  obtained,  no  permanent  Civil 
List  would  have  been  granted  either  by  the  preced- 
ing or  the  subsequent  House  of  Assembly.  Under 
other  circumstances — in  the  presence  of  a  responsible 
government — the  Liberals  would  probably  not  have 
opposed  the  granting  of  a  permanent  Civil  List ;  but 
under  a  system  which  deprived  the  Assembly  of  all 
control  over  the  advisers  of  the  Lieutenant  Governor, 
they  can  hardly  be  blamed  for  seeking  to  enforce  Exe- 
cutive responsibility  by  the  only  means  that  seemed  to 
bo  in  their  power. 

It  had  already  become  evident  that,  even  in  the 
present  House,  Mr.  Mackenzie  would  frequently  get 
his  own  way,  and  that  he  would  give  no  end  of  trou- 
ble to  the  official  party.  He  brought  forward  mo- 
tions which  the  House,  in  spite  of  its  adverse  compo- 
sition, did  not  venture  to  reject,  and  they  were  some- 
times accepted  without  opposition.  He  had  carried  a 
motion  of  inquiry  into  the  fees,  salaries,  pensions,  and 
rewards  paid  out  of  that  portion  of  the  revenue  which 
was  not  at  the  disposal  of  the  Legislature,  as  well  as 
a  motion  for  a  return  of  all  sums,  paid  out  of  the  same 
source,  to  religious  denominations.  He  had  made 
strong  efforts  to  effect  a  reform  in  the  verv  defective 
system  of  banking  which  then  prevailed.  The  friends 
of  bank  mystery  had  been  obliged  to  give  way,  and 
allow  regular  returns  of  the  state  of  the  Bank  of  Up- 
per Canada  to  be  made.  Attorney  General  Boulton, 
who  was  solicitor  for  the  bank,  held  out  against  the 
requirement  of  publicity  as  long  as  he  could,  but  he 
had  to  give  way.  On  this  subject  Mr.  Mackenzie  did 
not  carry  his  motion,  but  he  compelled  those  who 


mM 


196 


LIFE   OF  MACKENZIE,   AND 


1'!    J 


l!    i* 


opposed  him  to  yield  much  of  what  he  contended 
for.    ■  ■■      ■  •' 

If  a  member,  who  gave  the  official  party  so  much 
trouble  could  be  got  rid  of,  how  smoothly  tilings 
might  be  expected  to  glide  along  in  the  House,  as  at 
present  constituted!  Could  a  vote  of  expulsion  not  be 
carried?  To  this  question  an  attempt  was  made  to 
give  a  practical  answer.  Previous  to  the  general  elec- 
tion, Mr.  Mackenzie  had  distributed,  at  his  own  ex- 
pense, several  copies  of  the  journals  of  the  House, 
unaccompanied  by  comment,  and  precisely  in  the  shape 
in  which  they  were  printed  by  the  House.  The  de- 
clared object  of  the  distribution  was  to  give  the  voters, 
in  different  places,  the  means  of  referring  to  the  official 
record  of  the  votes  and  proceedings  of  the  House,  in 
order  that  they  might  be  able  to  trace  every  vote, 
motion,  and  resolution  of  their  late  representatives, 
and  to  ascertain  when  they  were  absent  and  when 
present ;  w^hether  their  votes  were  acceptable  or  not. 
It  appears  that  it  had  been  decided  at  a  private  party 
meeting,  at  which  several  of  the  leading  officials  are 
said  to  have  been  present,  that  this  should  be  treated 
as  a  breach  of  privilege,  and  be  made  the  ground  of 
a  motion  to  expel  the  member  guilty  of  it.  For  this. 
purpose,  the  aid  of  a  committee  of  inquiry  was 
obtained:  consisting  of  Attorney  General  Boulton, 
Messrs.  McNab,  Willson,  Samson,  and  Win.  Robin- 
son. Mr.  McNab  was  selected  as  the  minister  of  ven- 
geance; and  it  may  be  presumed  that  he  performed 
his  task  con  amove,  since  he  had  an  old  grudge  to 
settle  with  the  member,  on  whose  motion  he  had,  in  a 
previous  session,  been  sent  to  prison  for  refusing  to 


THE  CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


197 


answer  the  inquiries  of  a  committee  of  the  House. 
Mr.  McNab  based  his  complaint  chiefly  upon  the  fact 
that  the  journals  had  been  distributed  without  the 
appendix.     If  the  appendix  had  gone  too,  ho  owned 
"  that  he  should  not  so  readily  have  made  up  his  mind 
on  the  question  of  privilege."    The  idea  he  attempted 
to  convey  was,  that  the  journals  alone  gave  a  partial 
view  of  the  proceedings  of  the  House  ;  but  this  pre- 
tence was  wholly  groundless.     All  the  votes  and  pro- 
ceedings of  the  House  are  contained  in  the  journals. 
The  motion  was   in   these  words:  "That  it  having 
appeared  upon  the  report  of  the  select  committee,  to 
whom  was  referred  the  resolution  of  this  House,  and 
the  report  of  the  Clerk  on  the  subject  of  printing  the 
journals,  that  William  Lyon  Mackenzie,  Printer,  of 
this  town,  who  was  employed  to  print  the  said  jour- 
nals, had  abused  the  trust  reposed  in   him  by  pub- 
lishing portions  of  the  said  journals,  and  distributing 
the  same  for  political  purposes,  among  individuals  not 
entitled    to    copies    thereof;    thereby  committing    a 
breach  of  the  privileges  of  this  House."    The  Solicitor 
General  made  no  hesitation  in  denouncing  the  circu- 
lation of  the  journals  as  "altogether  disgraceful,  and 
a  high  breach  of  the  privileges  of  the  House."     He 
deemed  it  monstrous  to  circulate  them,  "  without  the 
consent  or  approbation  of  the  House,"  and  for  the 
shameful  purpose  of  letting  the  constituencies  know 
how  their  members  had  voted.     The  Attorney  General 
said  the  question  was  whether,  for  this  "  bad  purpose, 
any  portion  of  the  journals  of  the  House  could  be  pub- 
lished;" and  he  answered  it  by  unhesitatingly  declar- 
ing his  "opinion,  as  a  lawyer,  that  such  a  publication 


"^fl 


i;i:fi: 


ilu 


am 


■ 


M*T 


i 


r 


198 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,    AND 


was  a  breach  of  Parliamentary  privileges,  whether 
done  with  an  evil  intent,  or  for  a  praiseworthy  purpose." 
He  attempted  to  make  the  British  constitution  respon- 
sible for  the  folly  his  party  were  attempting  to  perpe- 
trate. "He  had  been  suffering  much  from  indisposi- 
tion all  day;  but  he  felt  it  to  be  his  duty  to  stop  in 
his  place  and  vindicate  those  privileges  which  ought 
to  be  dear  to  every  man  who  loved,  as  he  did,  the 
British  constitution."  The  spirit  of  the  dominant 
party  of  the  day  is  fairly  shown  by  this  style  of  plead- 
ing. Technically  speaking,  there  may  be  little  doubt 
of  the  correctness  of  Mr.  Boulton's  Parliamentary  law; 
but  nobody  knew  better  than  he,  that  the  rule  which 
forbids  any  one  to  publish  the  proceedings  of  the  House, 
without  authority,  was  violated  every  day;  and  that 
its  violation  was  looked  upon,  not  as  a  crime  to  be 
punished,  but  a  public  benefit  and  a  general  conve- 
nience. Mr.  Dalton  had,  in  the  previous  session, 
published  portions  of  the  proceedings  of  the  House  in 
his  journal;*  and  if  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  liable  to  be 
punished,  so  was  he.  Every  newspaper  publisher 
was  equally  guilty. 

Mr.  Mackenzie  had  a  clear  appreciation  of  the  efiect 
which  such  an  ill-advised  movement  would  produce 
on  the  public  mind.  "If,"  he  said,  "the  object  of  this 
resolution  is  to  do  me  injury,  it  is  but  another  proof 
of  the  incapacity  and  folly  of  the  advisers  of  this  go- 
vernment, who  could  not  have  better  displayed  their 
weakness  of  intellect  and  unfitness  for  office,  than  by 
bringing  me  before  the  public  as  a  guilty  person,  on 
an  accusation,  against  which  the  whole  country,  from 

*  The  Patriot. 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


199 


one  end  to  the  other,  will  cry  out,  'Shame!'  Of  what 
am  I  accused?  Why,  Mr.  Speaker,  I  have  committed 
the  high  crime  and  misdemeanor  of  distributing,  be- 
fore a  general  election,  at  my  own  private  expense, 
one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  copies  of  the  public  offi- 
cial journals  of  this  House,  without  note  or  comment, 
and  after  the  Clerk  had  corrected  the  proofs,  in  order 
(as  the  circular  letter  I  sent  with  them  declares)  that 
the  freeholders  in  every  district  might  have  in  their 
own  hands  the  best  possible  means  of  judging  of  the 
fitness  or  unfitness  of  honorable  members  again  to 
represent  their  feelings  and  interests ;  and  in  order 
that  means  might  be  at  hand  to  refute  the  slanders 
of  those  who  would  desire  to  mislead  the  public  by 
anonymous  placards,  handbills,  and  idle  gossip,  in 
favor  of  one  candidate  to  the  prejudice  of  another." 
"Were  this  motion  to  carry,"  he  said  in  another  part 
of  his  defence,  "  we  should  find  that  we  had  privileges 
contrary  to  precedent,  contrary  to  usage;  privileges, 
of  which  no  popular  legislative  body,  until  now,  ever 
heard  or  dreamed;  privileges,  which  set  common  sense 
and  human  reason  at  defiance.  If  I  have  done  wrong, 
every  newspaper  editor  in  London,  in  Lower  Canada, 
and  in  this  Province,  is  deserving  of  punishment." 

Nothing  could  be  plainer  than  that  the  charge  on 
which  it  was  sought  to  justify  the  motion  for  expul- 
sion wab  a  mere  pretext.  For  if  the  publication  of 
the  proceedings  of  the  House,  and  worse  still,  as  was 
alleged,  of  a  portion  of  those  proceedings,  was  an  of- 
fence which  that  body,  in  vindication  of  its  privileges, 
was  bound  to  punish,  proceedings  ought  to  have  been 
taken  against  every  newspaper  publisher.    It  was  not 


!m 


' '    ' 

f 


il     I 


t? 


Mi 


200 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


;i 


the  member  but  the  publisher  of  the  journals  who  was 
alleged  to  have  offended  in  this  instance ;  and  why 
should  the  member  be  punished  for  what  the  pub- 
lisher had  done,  while  every  other  newspaper  pro- 
prietor, who  was  obnoxious  to  the  same  charge,  was 
to  go  scot  free?  These  considerations  must  have 
flashed  upon  the  House ;  and  in  spite  of  its  subserv- 
iency to  the  administration,  and  in  spite  of  the  desire 
to  get  rid  of  Mr.  Mackenzie's  active  opposition  by 
removing  his  presence  from  the  House,  a  majority, 
fearing  the  effect  of  the  proceeding  upon  the  constitu- 
encies, shrank  from  sustaining  Mr.  McNab's  motion. 
The  vote  stood  fifteen  against  twenty ;  the  names  of 
the  Attorney  General  and  the  Solicitor  General  figur- 
ing in  the  minority. 

Baffled  for  the  time,  but  resolved  not  to  forego  their 
purpose  of  getting  rid  of  a  troublesome  opponent,  a 
new  pretext  was  soon  invented.  It  was  pretended 
that  Mr.  Mackenzie,  the  journalist,  had  printed  a  libel 
upon  the  House.  But  for  libel  the  law  had  provided 
severe  remedies,  and  placed  the  accused  at  the  great 
disadvantage  of  not  being  able  to  plead  in  justification 
that  the  alleged  libel  was  true.  To  the  law  of  the 
land,  the  accused  journalist  was  amenable ;  and 
might  have  been  put  upon  his  trial,  either  civilly  or 
criminally.*  But  this  would  not  have  answered  the 
purpose  of  Mr.  Mackenzie's  assailants ;  which  was  to 
rid  the  House  of  his  presence  and  his  opposition. 

*  I  do  not,  of  course,  intend  to  deny  the  constitutional  right  of  the  House  to 
punish  for  libels  upon  itself.  But  the  power  is  one  that  requires  to  be  ex- 
ercised with  groat  caution ;  and  assuredly  it  should  not  be  abused  by  making  it 
a  pretext  for  the  expulsion  of  a  member,  who  is  found  troublesome  to  the 
dominant  party. 


THE    CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


201 


Before  the  time  came  for  the  second  motion  for  ex- 
pulsion, the  House  had  entered  on  another  session ; 
and  in  the  interval  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  far  from  hav- 
ing done  any  thing  to  conciliate  the  dominant  faction. 
On  the  16th  of  March,  1831,  the  committee  on  the 
state  of  the  representation,  of  which  he  was  chairman, 
reported.     It  condemned  the  practice  of  crowding  the 
House  with  placemen ;  showed  that  the  Legislative 
Council  had  repeatedly  thrown  out  bills  for  allowing 
the  same  indemnity  to  members  for  towns  as  was  paid 
to  those  for   country  counties — ten   shillings  a   day, 
without  any  allowance  for  travelling  expenses — recom- 
mended the  modification  of  that  provision  of  the  law 
which  gave  a  representative  to  every  town  having  one 
thousand  inhabitants,  so  as  to  include  a  portion  of  the 
adjoining  country  sufficient  to  give  the  constituency 
four  thousand  inhabitants ;  an  approach  to  the  equal- 
ization of  constituencies,  in  other  cases,  was  recom- 
mended in   detail.    Some  of   the  suggestions  have 
since  been  carried  into  efi^ect.    The  report  is  entirely 
free  from  that  quackery  which  consists  of  the  iteration 
of  what  is  readily  accepted  as  a  principle,  but  which 
without  some  modification  does  not  admit  of  practical 
application.     It  was  shown  that  the  Executive  had 
exerted  undue  influence  on  placemen  who  held  seats 
in  the  Legislative  Council ;  and  compelled  them  to 
change  their  tone  and  vote  in  direct  opposition  to 
their  convictions  previously  expressed  in  their  places. 
A  few  had  had  spirit  enough  to  protest ;  but  submis- 
sion had  been  the  rule. 

The  Legislative  recess  was  of  less  than  ordinary 
length ;  the  Provincial  Parliament,  prorogued  on  the 

26 


202 


LIFE   OF    MACKENZIE,  AND 


1 


i 


16th  of  March,  having  been  again  convened  on  the 
17th  of  November,  1831.  But  the  period  had  been 
long  enough  for  Mr.  Mackenzie  to  arouse  an  agitation 
which  shook  Upper  Canada  throughout  its  whole  ex- 
tent. Nothing  like  it  had  ever  before  been  witnessed 
in  the  Upper  Province.  In  the  middle  of  July,  he 
issued,  in  temperate  language,  a  call  for  public  meet- 
ings, to  appeal  to  the  King  and  the  Imperial  Parlia- 
ment against  the  abuses  of  power  by  the  local  authori- 
ties. He  did  not  mistrust  the  justice  or  the  good 
intentions  of  the  Sovereign.  On  the  contrary,  he 
showed  the  people  that  there  were  substantial  reasons 
for  believing  in  the  good  intentions  of  the  King  to- 
wards the  Province.  "  If,"  he  said,  in  a  public  ad- 
dress, "  you  can  agree  upon  general  principles  to  be 
maintained  by  the  agents  you  may  appoint  in  London, 
I  am  well  satisfied  that  his  Majesty's  government  will 
exert  its  utmost  powers  to  fulfil  your  just  and  reason- 
able requests;  your  King's  noble  efforts  on  behalf  of 
your  brethren  in  England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland,  are 
an  earnest  that  you  have  in  him  a  firm  and  powerful 
friend."  In  these  public  meetings,  York  led  off;  and 
was  followed  by  responsive  movements  throughout  the 
Province.  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  personally  present  at 
many  of  the  meetings,  and  even  in  such  places  as 
Brock ville  and  Cornwall  he  carried  every  thing  as  he 
wished.  Hach  petition  adopted  by  those  meetings  was 
an  echo  of  the  other ;  and  many  appear  to  have  been 
exact  copies  of  one  another.  To  produce  a  certified 
copy  of  the  proceedings  of  the  York  meeting  was  sure  to 
obtain  assent  to  what  it  had  done.  A  demand  for  a  re- 
sponsible government  found  a  place  in  these  petitions. 


V 


THE   CANADIAN   EEBELLION. 


203 


The  King  was  asked  "  to  cause  the  same  constitutional 
principle  which  has  called  your  present  ministers  to 
office  to  be  fully  recognized  and  uniformly  acted  upon 
in  Upper  Canada ;  so  that  we  may  see  only  those  who 
possess  the  confidence  of  the  people  composing  the 
Executive  Council  of  your  Majesty's  representative." 
Representative  reform — which  then  occupied  so  much 
attention  in  England — was  demanded.  The  control 
of  all  the  revenue  raised  in  the  Province  was  asked  to 
be  placed  in  the  Legislative  Assembly  ;*  the  disposal 
of  the  public  lands  to  be  regulated  by  law ;  the  secular- 
ization of  the  Clergy  Reserves ;  the  establishment  of 
municipal  councils  which  should  have  the  control  of 
local  assessments;  the  abolition  of  exclusive  privi- 
leges conferred  upon  particular  religious  denomina- 
tions ;  law  reform ;  provision  for  impeaching  public 
servants  who  betray  their  trust;  the  exclusion  of 
judges  and  ministers  of  the  gospel  from  the  Execu- 
tive Council  and  the  Legislature ;  the  abolition  of  the 
right  of  primogeniture :  these  items  completed  the  list 
of  those  grievances,  of  which  redress  was  asked.  Some 
of  the  copies  varied  a  little  from  the  original  formula ; 
in  substance  the  different  petitions  presented  but  little 
variation. 

Of  these  petitions  Mr.  Mackenzie  afterwards  be- 
came the  bearer  to  England.  The  aggregate  number 
of  signatures  appended  to  them  was  over  twenty-four 


*  In  respect  to  Lower  Canada  this  principle  had  already  been  conceded. 
Lord  Howick  had  stated  in  the  Imperial  Parliament,  on  the  11th  of  April  pre- 
vious, that  "  the  government  of  Canada  would  bo  asked  to  surrender  to  the 
Provincial  Assembly,  the  whole  of  the  disputed  revenue ;  but  at  the  same  time 
he  would  ask  of  them  a,  moderate  provision  for  the  salaries  of  the  governor  and 
judges ;"  a  civil  list,  in  fact,  to  be  granted  every  seven  years.  i . 


m 


\i 


1 


204 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,   AXD 


thousand,  five  hundred.  In  spite  of  counter  petitions 
numerously  signed,  Mr.  Mackenzie's  mission,  as  we 
shall  see,  was  far  from  being  barren  of  results. 

During  the  spring  of  1831,  Mr.  Mackenzie  made  a 
journey  to  Quebec,  to  pay  a  visit  to  some  of  the  lead- 
ing politicians  of  Lower  Canada.  He  took  passage  at 
Montreal,  in  the  steamer  Waterloo,  for  Quebec. 
While  on  her  w^ay  down,  the  vessel  was  wrecked, 
early  on  the  morning  of  the  13th  April,  opposite  St. 
Nicholas,  and  the  passengers  had  a  narrow  escape  for 
their  lives.  The  vessel  went  down  in  deep  water. 
The  accident  arose  from  the  supposition  that  the  ice- 
bridge  at  Cap  Rouge  had  given  way,  and  left  the 
channel  clear.  It  was  the  general  wish  of  the  passen- 
gers that  the  vessel  should  proceed,  and  the  captain 
acted  upon  it.  Mr.  Mackenzie  wrote  an  account  of 
the  occurrence,  dated  — "  Malhot's  Hotel,  Quebec, 
April  13,  1831. 

"  When  off  Dechambault,  one  of  the  company's 
pilots  came  on  board  and  said  he  had  certain  infor- 
mation that  the  ice  at  Cap  Rouge  had  gone  down  and 
left  the  channel  clear.  Towards  night,  Mr.  Lyman, 
of  the  house  of  Hedge  &  Lyman,  Montreal,  expressed 
to  me  some  doubts  as  to  the  danger  of  our  situation, 
but  I  confess  I  had  no  fears  whatever,  but  believed 
that  by  midnight,  at  least,  ve  would  be  off  the  wharf 
here.  About  twenty  miles  above  this  city,  however, 
we  came  near  to  the  great  body  of  ice  with  which  the 
channel  is  choked  up,  and  the  master  and  pilot  judged 
it  prudent  to  turn  about  and  anchor  in  what  was  con- 
sidered a  safe  place  several  miles  up  the  river.  Late 
in  the  night  we  cast  anchor  in  clear,  smooth  water; 


1 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


205 


the  Lady  having  previously  anchored  not  far  above 
us.  We  neither  saw  nor  dreamt  of  the  bay  of  ice 
that  afterwards  bore  down  upon  us  with  the  ebb  of 
the  tide.  The  passengers  and  the  crew  numbered, 
perhaps,  upwards  of  fifty  persons,  five  or  six  being 
women,  one  with  a  child  only  nine  weeks  old.  There 
were  about  fourteen  in  the  upper  cabin  with  me,  and 
the  wife  of  Mr.  Collins,  an  Englishman,  from  Oxford, 
occupied  the  ladies'  cabin  below  ours.  By  eleven  the 
passengers  were  all  in  bed,  except  Mr.  Lalanne,  of 

Montreal,  and  myself.     At  midnight  Mr.  L also 

retired,  and  I  sat  above  another  hour  reading  a  book 
that  interested  me.  Mr.  Lyman  had  only  lain  down 
with  his  clothes  on,  such  were  his  just  apprehensions. 
I  took  the  candle  about  one  in  the  morning,  went 
round  the  vessel;  found  all  well;  no  appearance  of 
storm  or  danger ;  I  then  stripped,  went  to  bed,  and  fell 
fast  asleep.  At  two  o'clock  Mr.  Lyman  and  other  pas- 
sengers awaked  me,  said  we  were  in  danger,  that  the 
ice  had  come  down  upon  us  and  was  driving  us  among 
the  ice  above  Cap  Rouge,  where  in  all  probability,  we 
should  be  lost.  The  ice  made  a  dreadful  din,  but  I 
confess  I  apprehended  nothing,  so  went  asleep  again, 
and  was  again  awaked.  We  had  dragged  one  anchor, 
and  lost  the  other,  and  had  drifted  into  the  midst  of 
the  ice.  The  vessel  had  become  unmanageable.  The 
efforts  of  the  crew  to  back  her  out  were  useless,  the 
cables  being  in  the  ice.  For  three  hours  before  the 
wreck  several  passengers  had  declared  their  convic- 
tion that  we  would  all  go  to  the  bottom,  but  I  lay  still 
in  my  berth  and  listened  to  their  arguments  pro  and 
cm  until  half-past  five.    In  a  moment,  as  it  were,  a 


!  f 


206 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


vast  mass  of  ice  came  down  upon  her  with  a  tremen- 
dous force ;  the  engine  instantly  stopped,  and  in  less 
than  a  minute  she  filled.  I  jumped  up  in  my  shirt, 
caught  hold  of  my  trowsers  and  overshoes,  and  was 
soon  on  a  large  cake  of  ice  on  which  they  had  hauled 
the  ship's  boat  and  a  bark  canoe.  The  passengers  had 
all  previously  gone  upon  the  ice,  and  were  stepping 
from  island  to  island,  or  rather  from  hill  to  hill,  and 
from  valley  to  valley  of  ice,  endeavoring  to  make  the 
shore,  which  was  about  a  mile  distant.  Capt.  Perry, 
his  mate,  and  some  of  his  people  remained  with  the 
boat,  near  to  the  wreck,  which  at  that  time  had  been 
left  by  all,  it  being  supposed  that  she  would  suddenly 
be  engulphed  by  reason  of  the  very  heavy  cargo  and 
the  weight  of  her  engine.  After  helping  to  haul  the 
boat  a  little  farther  on  the  ice,  I  went  close  to  the 
steamer,  observed  that  the  water  ceased  to  make  as  at 
first,  and  returning  to  Capt.  Perry  took  his  advice  as 
to  the  chance  I  had  of  going  down  if  I  returned  for 
my  clothes  and  baggage.  He  thought  I  might  ven- 
ture, and  in  a  moment  I  was  on  board ;  got  my  watch 
and  pocket-book  from  under  my  pillow ;  seized  hold 
of  my  saddle-bags,  valise,  great  coat,  and  other 
clothes,  and  without  hat  or  boots  made  for  the  land. 
It  was  a  difficult  task,  but  I  was  last,  and  the  track 
of  the  feet  of  others  often  guided  me  when  1  could 
see  no  one.  The  tide  was  then  making,  and  the 
water  in  several  places  gushed  up  through  the  rent 
and  iotten  ice  as  if  it  would  forever  stop  my  pro- 
gress. In  one  hole  I  was  nearly  up  to  the  neck  in 
water,  and  as  my  overshoes  would  not  stay  on  my 
feet,  I  added  them  to  my  luggage,  of  which  I  was 


THE  CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


207 


heartily  tired.    At  length  I  came  up  with  Mr.  Lyman 
and  a  poor  woman  who  had  almost  given  in  and  was 

weeping  bitterly.     Mr.  L 's  leg  had  been  broken 

during  the  Montreal  Tailors'  Riot  of  last  summer,  by 
a  stone  thrown  by  a  tailor,  and  he  found  walking  very 
difficult.    I  kept  company  with  him  and  the  woman 
until  by  the  good  providence  of  God  and  the  wonder- 
ful bridge  of  ice  he  had  that  morning  provided  for  us 
liis  humble  creatures,  we  all  got  safe  to  land  at  the 
village  of  St.  Nicholas,  the  property  of  Sir  John  Cald- 
well, about  sixteen  miles  above  this  city.     I  was  quite 
hoarse  with  cold,  and  very  much  fatigued,  for  no  other 
passenger  had  ventured  to  stop  for  his  baggage.     See- 
ing, however,  from  the  shore  that  the  vessel  was  still 
above  water,  and  correctly  judging  that  she  was  sup- 
ported by  the.  ice  that  had  got  under  her  wings,  the 
passengers  oifered  rewards  to  the  Canadian  peasants 
to  bring  baggage  ashore.     With  their  efficient  aid, 
the  assistance  of  Mr.  Sutton,  a  most  hospitable  and 
friendly  man  who  resides  in  the  seigniorial  house  at 
St.  Nicholas  ;  the  advice  of  the  parish  priest,  Mr.  Du- 
fresne,  who  took  an  active,  lively  interest  on  behalf 
of  the  wrecked ;  and  of  the  captain,  mate,  and  sea- 
men, (all  of  whom  I  admired  for  their  coolness  and 
deliberation,)  nearly  all  of  the  upper  cabin  furniture, 
and  bedding,  the  most  of  the  passengers'  baggage,  and 
the  boat's  books  and  papers  were  saved.     Among  the 
rest  of  the  odds  and  ends  my  hat  and  boots  made 
their  appearance,  the  latter  well  soaked  in  water.  *  *  * 
"  I  must  not  omit  to  state  that  the  sterling  honesty 
of  the  Canadians  in  humble  life  never  appeared  to  me 
in  a  fairer  light  than  in  their  transactions  of  the  morn- 


:l 


4m 


'm 


208 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


ing  of  the  shipwreck.  Not  one  pin's  value  of  pro- 
perty did  the  humblest  of  their  peasants  or  peasants' 
boys  attempt  to  secrete  or  claim.  No  1  It  was  de- 
lightful to  see  the  little  fellows  one  by  one  come  up 
to  Mr.  Sutton's  with  their  loads  and  lay  them  down 
among  the  baggage,  without  even  claiming  praise  for 
their  exertions.  Had  some  of  our  legislators,  who 
made  invidious  comparisons  between  the  Upper  and 
Lower  Canadas  last  winter  in  the  Assembly  been  with 
me  to  see  the  benevolent  creatures  exert  themselves 
on  our  behalf,  they  would  certainly  have  felt  ashamed 
of  their  censures." 

There  is  one  incident  connected  with  the  landing 
of  the  passengers,  not  mentioned  in  this  letter,  which 
Mr.  Mackenzie  often  related.  The  poor  woman  whom 
he  overtook,  in  company  with  Mr.  Lyman,  was  un- 
able to  jump  from  one  piece  of  ice  to  another,  or 
was  afraid  to  venture.  Mr.  Mackenzie  threw  him- 
self across  the  breach,  and  she  walked  over  upon  his 
body! 


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27 


THE  CANADIAN  BEBELLION. 


209 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

First  Expulsion  of  Mr.  Mackenzie  from  the  House  for  an  alleged  Libel  and 
Breach  of  Privilege — His  Defence — Partial  Character  of  the  Proceedings 
against  him — Libels  on  the  previous  House  complimented  by  the  Lieutenant 
Governor — Mackenzie's  Defence  voted  an  Aggravation  of  his  Offence — The 
House  refuses  to  inquire  whether  any  one  else  has  Libelled  them  during  the 
Session — Libellous  Language  of  the  Crown  Officers — The  Feeling  excited  by 
these  Proceedings — Petitioners  go  in  a  body  to  the  Government  House— 
Fears  of  the  Government  shown  by  Military  Preparations — The  Expelled 
Member  carried  triumphantly  through  the  Streets,  amid  the  Acclamations 
of  the  Populace — Public  Meeting  resolve  to  present  the  Expelled  Member 
with  a  Gold  Medal  in  Approbation  of  his  Political  Career — His  Ke-clection 
—His  Opponent  gets  One  Vote — Gold  Medal  and  Chain  Presented. 

In  the  last  session,  the  attempted  expulsion  of  Mr. 
Mackenzie  had  failed.  The  pretext  adduced  to  excuse 
the  proposal  was  so  flimsy  and  untenable  that  a  ma- 
jority of  the  House  shrank  from  committing  them- 
selves to  it.  A  new  crime  had  been  invented,  and  a 
new  pretext  found.  Before  it  was  a  breach  of  privi- 
lege, for  distributing  the  journals  of  the  House ;  now 
it  was  a  libel,  constituting  a  breach  of  privilege.  The 
House  met  on  the  17tli  November,  1831,  and  on  the 
6th  December  Mr.  Mackenzie's  first  expulsion  was 
proposed.  The  proceedings  were  initiated  by  a  flour- 
ish about  the  privileges  of  Parliament ;  the  intention 

S7 


\  \ 


fy'v 


i 

1 

■ 

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■  ■  : 

■     :" 

210 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


« ?;• 


being  to  justify  an  outrage  which  it  was  proposed  to 
perpetrate  in  their  name.     The  ball  was  opened  by 
Mr.  John  Wilson,  a  late  Speaker ,  of  the  House,  sup- 
ported by  Mr.  Burwell,  against  whose  motion  to  create 
a  pension,  in  the  previous  session,  Mr.  Mackenzie  had 
roused  an  uncontrollable  feeling  in  the  galleries.   This 
preliminary  motion  affirmed,  "  that  the  privileges  of 
Parliament   were   established    for  the   support    and 
maintenance  of  the  independent  and  fearless  discharge 
of  its  high  functions,  and  that  it  is  to  the  uncompromis- 
ing assertion  and  maintenance  of  these  privileges  in 
the  earliest  periods  of  English  history,  that  we  are 
chiefly  indebted  for  the  free  institutions  which  have 
been  transmitted  to  us  by  our  ancestors."     Mr.  Bid- 
well,  seconded  by  Mr.  Perry,  with  a  view  of  showing 
the  animus  of  the  proceedings,  moved  in  amendment 
that  so  much  of  the  journals  as  related  to  the  previous 
attempt  at  expulsion  be  read ;  but  in  a  House  of  forty 
members  he  was  beaten   by  a  majority  of  ten.    Mr. 
Bi dwell  returned  to  the  charge,  proposing  to  amend 
the    resolution    so    as    to    give    credit    to   "a   free 
press,   in   modern   and   enlightened    times,   notwith- 
standing the  many  different  attempts  to  destroy  its 
liberty,"  a  share  in  the  preservation  of  the  free  insti- 
tutions  transmitted   to   us   by  our   ancestors.     This 
amendment  being  rejected,  on  a  vote  of  twenty-four 
against  sixteen,  another  amendment,  embodying  an 
extract  from  the  Colonial  Advocate  of  the  24th  Novem- 
ber, 1831,   and  another  of  the   1st  December,  was 
moved.    It  had  for  sponsors  Mr.  Samson  and  Mr. 
Thomson,  the  latter  of  whom  was  proprietor  of  the 
Kingston  Herald^  a  paper  opposed  in  politics  to  Mr. 


THE   CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


211 


ig  an 


Mcackenzie.*    The  first  of  these  articles  was  a  mere 
summary  of  the  proceedings  of  the  House  on  the  sub- 

*The  amendment  was  as  follows: — "That  an  article  published  in  the  news- 
paper called  the  Colonial  Advocate,  of  date  the  24th  of  November,  1831,  in  the 
following  words : 
'"State  of  thk  Colony. — The  people  of  this  Province  will  probably  be 
able  to  form  a  tolerably  fair  estimate  of  the  manner  in  whioh  their  petitions 
on  public  affairs  are  likely  to  be  treated  in  the  Representative  branch  of  the 
Legislature,  when  they  learn  the  n?anner  in  which  the  first  of  the  series  ha« 
teen  disposed  of.    The  petition  of  the  people  of  Vaughan,  unanimously  agreed 
upon  at  their  town-meeting,  and  signed  by  the  chairman,  secretary,  and  from 
two  to  three  hundred  freeholders  and  other  inhabitants,  was  the  first  presented  to 
the  House ;  and  after  it  had  been  road  and  had  lain  two  days  on  the  table,  Mr. 
Mackenzie,  a  representative  of  the  people  from  whom  it  came,  moved  that  it 
should  be  referred  to  a  committee  of  five  members,  viz :  Mr.  Ketchum,  th« 
other  member  for  the  county  in  which  the  petition  was  voted,  and  Mes§r» 
Buell,  Perry,  and  Shaver,  with  the  mover,  as  a  matter  of  course.     Mr.  Thom- 
son, of  Frontenac,  the  editor  of  the  Kingston  Herald,  who  had  previously  ex- 
pressed great  bitterness  against  the  petitioners  and  their  petition,  in  the  public 
journals,  immediately  rose  and  objected  to  referring  the  petition   to  its  friendi* 
and  allowing  them  to  consider  of  and  introduce  any  measures  desired  by  the 
petitioners,  and  which   they  might  consider  expedient,  to  the  notice  of  th» 
Legislature.    We  told  the  people  of  York  last  July,  that  this  would  be  th« 
result  of  any  application  to  the  Assembly;  and  therefore  the  more  earnestly 
requesting  them  to  unite  in  addressing  the  King's  Government,  as  by  this 
means  distinct  propositions  could  be  submitted  to  a  new  Assembly,  called,  as  in 
England,  on  the  Reform  Bill.    Wo  now  urge  all  those  entrusted  with  the 
general  petitions  to  the  King  and  House  of  Assembly,  to  send  them  to  York, 
by  mail,  on  the  earliest  possible  day,  in  order  that  the  former  be  forwarded  to 
London,  and  the  latter  submitted  to  the  Assembly,  now  in  session.    We  learn 
thiit  Chief  Justice  Robinson's  successor  in  the  law  business,  Mr.  Draper,  either 
has  gone  off  this  week  to  London,  or  is  now  about  to  set  off,  to  oppose  the  general 
petitions,  and  advocate  the  interests  of  the  Executive  faction  hero,  with  His 
Miijesty's  Government.     They  take  the  utmost  pains  to  conceal  their  weakness 
in  the  estimation  of  the  country,  and  one  of  their  ablest  assistants  leaves  his 
own  private  business  pnd  prospects,  to  watch  the  signs  of  the  times  at  home. 
Mr.  Thomson's  amendment,  already  spoken  of,  was  a  resolution,  •  that  the  pe- 
tition of  the  people  of  Vaughan,  with  all  other  petitions  relating  to  the  same 
subject,  be  referred  to  a  select  committee  of  seven  members,  to  be  chosen  at 
twelve  o'clock  to-morrow.'    The  Attorney  General  characterized  the  petitions 
Rs, '  the  expression  of  a  few  people,'  '  a  few  individuals,'  '  mere  casual  meetings,' 
'he  happened  to  have  seen  some  of  these   meetings,  but  a  few  respectable 


H'.i     ^ 


li:f 


ii 


il- 


1  ' 


HI 


212 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


ject  of  certain  petitions,  praying  for  a  redress  of 
grievances,  and  the  second  certainly  did  not  exceed 

farmers  mot  together,  did  not  at  all  understand  the  subject ;'  and  termed  the 
committee  'a  one-sided  committee.'  'The  petitions  he  had  never  seen  till 
that  day — they  had  been  got  up  by  somebody  or  other,'  The  Solicitor  General 
-wished  the  petitions  to  be  referred  to  a  committee  of  the  whole  House,  and 
thus  be  got  rid  of  at  once,  and  not  referred  to  the  committee  named  by  Hr. 
Mackenzie,  who  would  call  witnesses  where  none  were  wanted,  and  thus  in- 
crease the  expenses  of  the  session.  He  asserted  this,  although  there  wai 
nothing  in  the  motion  that  gave  the  committee  any  power  to  call  a  single  wit- 
ness, Messrs,  Burwell,  Jarvis,  and  others  opposed  to  the  rights  of  the  people, 
were,  of  course,  in  favor  of  Mr,  Thomson's  amendment ;  the  votes  in  favor  of 
which  were  as  follows: — Messrs,  Shade,  Henry  J,  and  George  Boul*  >n.  Bur- 
well,  Elliott,  A,  Fraser,  R.  D,  Eraser,  Sheriff  Jarvis,  Lewis,  McNab, 
McMartin,  Solicitor  General,  Ma^on,  Mount,  Samson,  Thomson,  Warren, 
and  W.  Willson. 

"•The  members  opposed  to  Mr,  Thomson's  amendment,  (introducing  a 
Bpecies  of  vote,  in  which  the  constituents  of  members  could  not  learn  how  they 
had  acted,)  and  who  would  have  entrusted  the  petitions  to  a  committee  of  per- 
sons favorable  to  the  prayer  of  the  petitioners,  were  Messrs.  Buell,  Campbell, 
Cook,  Duncombe,  Howard,  Ketchum,  McCall,  Mackenzie,  Perry,  Roblin, 
Shaver,  and  White,  The  Executive  faction  carried  their  measure  by  a  majority 
of  six. 

"And  al*^©  a  certain  article  in  the  said  paper,  called  the  Colonial  Advocate, 
of  the  date  of  1st  December,  1831,  in  the  following  words : 

"•Excellent  Example  of  Lower  Canada, — The  harmony  which  sub- 
sists between  the  Governor-in-Chief,  the  House  of  Assembly,  and  the  Colonial 
Secretary,  Lord  Viscount  Goderich,  must  be  pleasing  and  gratifying  to  every 
true  friend  of  representative  government;  for  it  is  evidently  the  consequence 
of  a  just  and  honorable  course  of  procedure  in  these  high  parties  towards  the 
people  of  Lower  Canada.  We  are  glad  to  perceive,  by  Lord  Goderich's  des- 
patch in  answer  to  the  Assembly's  petition  sent  home  last  spring  by  Mr.  Viger, 
that  nil  the  Judges  are  to  be  dismissed  both  from  the  Executive  and  Legisla- 
tive Council ;  that  the  revenues  from  the  Jesuits'  Estates  are  to  be  applied  by 
the  Province  to  educate  the  Canadians ;  that  the  power  of  regulating  trade  \i 
to  bo  exercised  in  future  with  great  attention  to  the  interests  of  the  colony; 
that  provincial  bills  for  giving  corporate  powers  and  making  local  regulations 
will  be  sanctioned ;  that  the  right  of  the  colonists  to  regulate  their  internal 
affairs  is  fully  admitted ;  that  oflSces  of  trust  and  profit  are  to  be  more  equally 
distributed  in  future ;  that  officers  who  have  lost  the  confidence  of  the  country 
arc  to  be  dismissed,  if  the  complaints  made  against  them  are  proved ;  that  all 
the  proper  influence  of  government  is  to  be  given  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


213 


the  latitude  of  political  criticism,  at  that  time  con- 
stantly taken  by  the  English  press.  It  would  be  easy  to 
quote  from  leading  London  journals  numerous  exam- 


colony,  ftnd  that  any  colonial  law  increasing  the  responsibility  and  accounta- 
bility of  public  officers  will  be  sanctioned  by  England.    In  the  Assembly  we 
see  nuble  and  patriotic  efforts  made  to  increase  the  happiness  of  the  people, 
enlighten  their  understandings,  and  watch  diligently  over  their  rights  and 
privileges ;  and  on  the  part  of  the  Governor-in-Chief  there  does  really  appear 
to  be  a  willingness  to  act  with  the  House  of  Assembly,  and  faithfully  to  assist 
them  in  securing  for  the  country  the  inestimable  advantage  of  good  laws  and 
free  institutions. 
'"The  contrast  between  their  Executive  and  ours,  betwixt  the  materiel  of 
our  Assembly  and  theirs,  and  between  the  use  they  make  of  an  invaluable  con- 
Btltution  and  our  abuse  of  it,  is  anything  but  satisfactory  to  the  friends  of  free- 
dom and  social  order  in  Upper  Canada.     Our  representative  body  has  degene- 
rated into  a  sycophantic  office  for  registering  the  decrees  of  as  mean  and  mer- 
cenary an  Executive  as  ever  was  given  as  a  punishment  for  the  sins  of  any  part 
of  North  America  in  the  nineteenth  century.     "We  boast  of  our  superior  intel- 
ligence, of  our  love  of  liberty ;  but  where  are  the  fruits  ".     Has  not  the  subser- 
vience of  our  Legislature  to  a  worthless  Executive  become  a  bye- word  and  a 
reproach  throughout  the  Colonies  ?    Are  we  not  now,  even  during  the  present 
week,  about  to  give  to  the  municipal  officers  of  the  Government,  as  a  banking 
monopoly,  a  power  over  the  people,  which,  added  to  their  already  overgrown 
influence,  must  render  their  sway  nearly  as  arbitrary  and  despotic  as  the 
iron  rule  of  the  Czar  of  Muscovy  ?    Last  winter,  the  majority  of  our  Assembly, 
with  our  Speaker  at  their  head,  felt  inclined  to  make  contemptuous  comparisons 
between  the  French  inhabitants  of  a  sister  colony  and  the  enlightened  con- 
stituents who  had  returned  them,  the  said  majority.    In  our  estimation,  and 
judging  of  the  tree  by  its  fruits,  the  Lower  Canadians  are  by  far  the  most  de- 
serving population  of  the  constitution  they  enjoy;    for   they   show  them- 
selves aware  of  its  value.     While  judging  the  people  here  by  the  representa- 
tives Ibey  return,  it  might  be  reasonably  inferred  that  the  constituents  of  the 
McLeans,  Vankoughnets,  Jarvises,  Robinsons,  Burwells,  Willsons,  Boultons, 
McNabs,  McMartins,  Erasers,  Chisholms,  Crookes,  Elliotts,  Browns,  Joneses, 
Magons,  Samsons,  and  Hagermans,  had  immigrated  from  Grand  Tartary, 
Russia,  or  Algiers  the  week  preceding  the  last  general  election  ;  for,  although 
in  the  turgid  veins  of  their  members,  there  may  bo  Britiph  blood,  there  cer- 
tainly is  not  the  appearance  of  much  British  feeling"  : — 

"Are  gross,  scandalous,  and  malicious  libels;  intended  and  calculated  to 
bring  this  House  and  the  government  of  this  Province  into  contempt,  and  to 
excite  groundless  suspicion  and  distrust  in  the  minds  of  the  inhabitants  of  this 


;  < 


!    I 


i  l: 


Pil 


214 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,    AND 


pies  of  greater  severity  of  denunciation.  At  the  dis- 
tance of  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  we  look 
back  with  amazement  at  the  paltry  passions  and  nar- 
row judgment  that  could  construe  these  articles  into  li- 
bels  on  the  House,  constituting  a  breach  of  privilege,  for 
which  nothing  less  than  ignominious  expulsion  of  the 
author  would  be  a  fitting  or  adequate  punishment. 

When  the  charge  had  been  put  into  a  tangible 
shape,  the  accused  member  was  asked  to  avow  or  dis- 
avow the  authorship  of  the  alleged  libels.  He 
promptly  accepted  the  responsibility  of  the  articles, 
both  as  author  and  publisher.  The  Speaker,  being  ap- 
pealed to,  decided  that  Mr.  Mackenzie  had  a  right  to 
be  heard  in  his  own  defence.  The  latter  then  pro- 
ceeded to  address  the  House ;  but  before  he  had  con- 
cluded, an  adjournment  took  place.  Next  day,  Mr. 
Bidwell  moved  for  a  committee  to  inquire  whether 
any  libels  had  been  published  on  the  House  during 
the  session.  The  motion  was  declared  to  be  out  of 
order.  The  Speaker  also  announced  that  he  had  given 
an  erroneous  decision,  on  the  previous  day,  in  giving 
the  accused  the  right  of  self-defence.  But  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie was  allowed  to  proceed.  He  denied  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  House,  in  prosecutions  for  libel ;  they  could 
not,  he  argued,  be  a  fit  tribunal  in  a  case  where  they 
would  occupy  the  impossible  position  of  complainant, 
judge,  and  jury.  If  they  complained  of  libel,  they 
could  address  the  Lieutenant  Governor  to  order  the 


Province,  &a  to  the  proceedings  and  motives  of  their  representatives ;  and  is, 
therefore,  a  breach  of  the  privileges  of  this  House.  And  "W.  L.  Mackenzie, 
having  avowed  the  authorship  of  the  said  articles,  be  now  called  upon  for  hi3 
defence." 


THE   CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


215 


crown  officers  to  institute  legal  proceedings.*  Upon 
the  charge  brought  against  him,  he  was  entitled  to, 
and  he  demanded,  a  legal  trial  before  a  jury  of  his 
country. 

So  much  did  Mr.  Mackenzie  urge  against  the  judicial 
fairness  of  the  proceeding.  It  must  be  admitted,  how- 
ever, the  strongest  point  he  made  was  not  by  the  use 
of  arguments  which  tended  to  question  the  compe- 
tency of  the  tribunal ;  but  in  demonstrating  the  par- 
tial and  one-sided  nature  of  the  proceedings.f  He 
was  not  the  only  member  of  the  House  who  published 
a  newspaper ;  and  others  had,  in  speaking  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Assembly,  used  much  harsher  language 
than  he  had.  But  the  truth  was,  one  party  was  per- 
mitted any  latitude  of  language,  in  dealing  with  their 
opponents.  This  had  been  apparent  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  Collins,  and  the  menaced  proceedings  against 
Mackenzie,  while  the  newspaper  organs  of  the  official 
party  were  left  undisturbed  in  their  carnival  of  un- 
measured abuse  of  opponents.  It  was  the  policy  of 
tying  the  hands  of  your  antagonist,  and  then  setting 
your  fiercest  hounds  upon  him. 

The  Lieutenant  Governor,  whose  nod  would  have 
been  sufficient  to  quash  these  proceedings  in  a  House 
swarming  with  placemen  and  dependents  on  the  Ex- 
ecutive, had  received  "  with  much  pleasure,"  a  petition 
from  certain  "  gentlemen,"  residing  in  the  county  of 
DuT'.nm,  in  which  the  previous  House  was  spoken  of 
as "  a  band  of  factious  demagogues,  whose  acts  per- 

•  This  was  done  in  the  case  of  Wilkes,  whose  expulsion  was  not  pronounced 
until  it  WHS  found  that  he  had  absconded. 

f  See  Appendix  B. 


< 


u 


I 


I'M' 


•'1 


;  \ 


1  !f 


! 


1' 
^1 


' 


hi 


"s 


>  i 


^pili 


216 


LIFE   OF    MACKENZIE,  AND 


It  t 


ceptibly  tend  to  disorganize  society,  to  subvert  legiti- 
mate authority,  and  to  alienate  men's  minds  from  con- 
stitutional government."  And  in  another  part  of  the 
document  thus  graciously  received,  the  Assembly  was 
described  as  being  composed  of  "  unprincipled  and 
designing  men  ;"  deluders  "  under  the  dark  mantle  of 
specious  patriotism." 

So  far  as  related  to  the  decision  of  the  House,  it 
was  to  no  purpose  that  Mr.  Mackenzie  exposed  the 
gross  partiality  of  these  discreditable  proceedings. 
The  majority  had  marked  their  victim,  and  no  argu- 
ment that  could  be  used  would  induce  them  to  forego 
the  sacrifice. 

At  half  past  five  o'clock  on  the  evening  of  the  9th 
of  December,  Mr.  Mackenzie,  having  closed  his  de- 
fence, retired  from  the  House,  leaving  the  majority  to 
act  unembarrassed  by  his  presence.  "No  vote  was 
taken  that  night.  Next  day,  Mr.  Perry,  seconded  by 
Mr.  Cook,  moved  that  the  order  of  the  day  on  the 
question  of  privilege  be  discharged.  He  obtained  but 
fifteen  votes  against  twenty-seven.  This  was  the  third 
division  on  the  proceedings,  and  it  was  in  complete 
harmony  with  the  two  which  had  taken  place  before 
Mr.  Mackenzie  had  made  his  defence.  Attorney  Gen- 
eral Boulton,  who  seems  to  have  feared  that  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie would  renew  his  defence,  moved  to  amend  Mr. 
Samson's  resolution  by  striking  out  the  order  for  hear- 
ing the  accused  in  his  defence ;  and  it  was  carried  by  the 
same  party  majority  that  had  voted  down  Mr.  Perry's 
amendment.  On  the  same  day,  the  House  acting 
as  accuser,  judge,  and  jury,  declared  Mr.  Mackenzie 
guilty  of  libel.    The  vote  was  precisely  the  same  as 


THE  CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


217 


on  the  two  previous  divisions — twenty-seven  against 
flfteon — a  fact  which  shows,  in  the  strongest  light,  how 
incapable  was  this  partisan  tribunal  of  deciding  fairly 
upon  a  question  of  libel.  By  a  party  vote  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie's guilt  had  been  pronounced ;  by  a  party  vote 
he  was  to  be  expelled. 

On  the  12th  December — Sunday  having  intervened 
gince  the  last  proceedings  on  the  subject— on  motion 
of  Mr.  Samson,  seconded  by  Mr.  McNab,  the  House 
declared  the  defence  of  Mr.  Mackenzie  to  be  a  gross 
aggravation  of  the  charge  brought  against  him,  and  that 
"  he  was  guilty  of  a  high  breach  of  the  privileges  of 
this  House."*    They  refused  to  strike  a  committee  to 

*  "MoNDAT,  Deeember  12,  1881. 

"  Mr.  Samson,  seconded  by  Mr.  McNab,  moves,  That  it  be  resolved  that 
William  Lyon  Mackenzie,  Esq.,  a  member  of  this  House,  having  avowed 
himself  the  author  of  the  articles  published  in  the  newspaper,  called  the  Colo- 
nial Advocate,  mentioned  in  the  resolution  of  this  House  on  Saturday  last — 
which  articles  are  grossly  false,  scandalous,  and  defamatory — and  having  been 
heard  in  his  place  in  defence  of  the  same,  has  by  the  whole  tenor  of  such  de- 
fence flagrantly  aggravated  the  charge  brought  against  him,  and  is  therefore 
guilty  of  a  high  breach  of  the  privileges  of  this  House.  [The  word  '  there- 
fore' was  afterwards  struck  out.] 

"  In  amendment,  Mr.  Perry,  seconded  by  Mr.  Lyons,  moves,  that  after  the 
word  Resolved,  in  the  original,  the  whole  be  expunged,  and  the  following 
words  inserted :  *  That  as  this  House  has  allowed  many  other  publications  to 
pass  without  punishment  or  censure,  reflecting  on  the  character  and  motives 
of  its  members  for  many  years  past,  and  as  addresses  to  the  head  of  the  Pro- 
vincial government  for  the  time  being  have  been  published  in  the  Official  Oa- 
zelte,  containing  such  reflections  with  answers  of  His  Excellency,  the  then 
Lieutenant  Governor,  expressing  his  thanks  for  such  addresses,  and  as  thie 
House  has,  by  the  resolution  adopted  on  Saturday  last,  asserted  its  privi- 
leges, and  shown  its  determination  hereafter  to  take  notice  of  such  ofi^ensive 
publications,  it  is  not  expedient  to  take  any  further  notice  of  the  said  libela 
published  in  the  Colonial  Advocate." 

"On  which  the  House  divided. 

"Yeas— Messrs.  Beardsloy,  Bidwell,  Buell,  Campbell,  Clark,  Cook,  How- 
ard, Ketchuni,  Lyons,  McCall,  Perrv,  Randal,  Roblin,  and  Shaver — 14. 
28 


;i 


! 


pill 


i;:,;|,i..^ 


'■fill- ' 


218 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


inquire  whether  any  other  libels  upon  them  had  been 
published  since  the  commencement  of  the  session. 

*'  Nays — Messrs.  Attorney  Oeneral,  Borczy,  Burwull,  Boulton,  Brown,  Dun- 
combe,  Elliott,  Fraser  A:,  Frasor  R.,  Ingorsoll,  Jones,  Lewis,  McNub,  Mo- 
Martin,  Ma9on,  Morris,  Mount,  Robinson,  Samson,  Shade,  Solicitor  General, 
Thomson,    Vankcjghnet,   Warren,  Werdon,  and  Wilson  W. — 26. 

Then  the  question  was  taken  on  that  resolution,  whether  Mr.  Mackenzie's 
defence  was  an  additional  offence ;  and  the  twenty-six  members  who  had  voted 
against  Messrs.  Perry  and  Lyons'  amendment,  as  above  stated,  voted  that  it 
WHS.  The  fourteen  who  had  voted  for  Messrs.  P.  &  L.'s  amendment  voted  that 
it  was  not.  Question  carried — found  guilty  of  the  defence  by  a  majority  of 
twelve. 

"  Mr.  Samson,  seconded  by  Mr.  Asa  Werdon,  moved  that  it  bo  resolved,  that 
William  Lyon  Mackenzie,  Esq.,  bo  expelled  this  House. 

••  In  amendment,  Mr.  Perry,  seconded  by  Mr.  Lyons,  moves,  that  after  thfl 
word  '  moves,'  in  the  original,  the  whole  bo  expunged,  and  the  following  in- 
Borted :  •  That  this  House  having  fully  asserted  its  privileges  by  resolving  some 
particular  remarks  contained  in  the  Colonial  Advocate  of  the  24th  of  Novem- 
ber and  of  the  1st  of  December,  reflecting  on  the  proceedings  of  this  Assem- 
bly, and  some  of  its  members,  to  bo  a  libel,  and  a  high  broach  of  the  privileges 
of  this  House,  it  is  expedient  to  appoint  a  Committee  of  Privilege  to  inquire 
and  report  to  this  House  what  other,  if  any,  libels  have  been  published  against 
the  proceedings  of  this  House,  or  any  of  its  members,  since  the  commencement 
of  this  present  session,  and  that  Messrs.  Attorney  General,  Berczy,  Duncombe, 
Beardsley,  and  Ketchum  do  compose  said  committee.'  ^' 

"  On  which  the  House  divided. 

"Ykas — Beardsley,  Bidwell,  Buell,  Campbell,  Clark,  Cook,  Howard, 
Ketchum,  Lyons,  McCall,  Perry,  Randal,  Roblin,  Shaver — 14. 

"  Nats — Attorney  General,  Berczy,  Boulton,  Brown,  Burwell,  Duncombe, 
Elliott,  Fraser  A.,  Fraser  R.,  Ingersoll,  Jones,  Lewis,  McMartin,  McNab, 
Majon,  Morris,  Mount,  Robinson,  Samson,  Shade,  Solicitor  General,  Thorn- 
son,   Vankoughnet,    Werden — 24. 

"  The  amendment  was  lost  by  a  majority  of  ton. 

**  In  amendment  to  Mr.  Samson's  motion  for  tno  expulsion  of  W.  L.  Mac- 
kenzie, Esq.,  Mr.  Duncombe  moves,  that  after  tho  word  'moves,'  in  the  origi- 
nal motion,  the  whole  bo  expunged,  and  the  following  be  inserted,  'Resolved, 
That  William  Lyon  Mackenzie,  Esq.,  be  called  to  tho  bar  of  this  House,  and 
that  he  be  reprimanded  by  the  Speaker.    Yeas,  7.    Nays,  81. 

"  On  the  original  question  the  House  divided,  and  the  yeas  and  nays  were  as 
follows : — 

"  Fob  Expelling  Mr.  Mackenzie. — Messrs.  Attorney  General,  Berczy, 
Boulton,  Brown,  Burwell,  Elliott,  Fraser  A.,  Fraser  R.,  Ingersoll,  Jones, 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


219 


.Mac- 
e  origi- 
solved, 
ise,  and 

were  as 

Berczy, 
Jones, 


Tho  majority  had  no  idea  of  exercising  their  tyranny 
in  an  impartial  manner.  Their  object  was  to  sacrifice 
their  opponents ;  not  to  deal  out  the  same  measure  of 
punishment  to  their  friends.  Among  those  who  would 
have  been  found  guilty,  if  the  inquiry  had  been  pushed, 
were  some  of  Mr.  Mackenzie's  accusers  and  judges. 
The  vote  for  expulsion  stood  twenty-four  against  fifteen, 
and  there  were  four  absent  members  belonging  to  the 
official  party,  all  of  whom  would,  if  present,  have 
borne  true  allegiance  on  this  occasion. 

Attorney  General  Boulton,  acting  as  prosecuting 
counsel  on  behalf  of  the  majority,  described  the  ac- 
cused as  a  "  reptile ;"  and  Solicitor  General  Hager- 
man  varied  the  description  to  "  a  spaniel  dog."  His 
accusers  and  judges  afi'ected  to  regard  his  censure  as 
equivalent  to  praise ;  while  taking  the  most  extraor- 
dinary pains  to  prove  by  their  acts  that  they  believed 
precisely  the  contrary.  .-       ■' 

The  Imperial  Parliament  has,  times  innumerable, 
punished  individuals  for  libels  upon  either  House.  A 
libel  upon  an  individual  member  has  always  been 
treated  as  a  libel  upon  the  whole  body  to  which  he 
belonged.  Admitting  the  force  of  English  precedent, 
Mr.  Mackenzie,  if  guilty  of  libel  upon  the  House,  was 
liable  to  punishment.  But  the  articles  complained  of 
as  libellous,  in  his  case,  can  hardly  be  said  to  have 

Lewis,  McMartin,  McNab,  Ma5on,  Morris,  Mount,  Robinson,  Samson,  Shade, 
Solicitor  Creneral,  Thomson,    Vankoughnet,    Warren,  "Werden — 24. 

"Against  the  Expulsion. — Messrs.  Beardsley,  BidweU,  BueU,  CampbeU, 
Clark,  Cook,  Duncombe,  Howard,  Ketchum,  Lyons,  McCall,  Perry,  Ran- 
dal, Roblin,  Shaver— 16." 

The  Courier,  an  organ  of  the  official  party,  announced  that  Messrs.  Wilson, 
Cook,  Chisholm,  and  Jarvis,  who  were  absent,  would,  if  present,  have  voted 
for  the  expulsion. 


\Vi 


ijl  i. 


fM 


|,i.  I 


ji|l:^,. 


ii'^ 


220 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


exceeded  the  legitimate  bounds  of  discussion ;  and 
they  were  not  nearly  so  bad  as  many  others  which  the 
i louse  thought  it  proper  to  overlook;  and  of  which, 
indeed,  some  of  the  majority  concerned  in  his  con- 
demnation had  been  guilty.  It  is  this  gross  partiality, 
this  want  of  even-handed  justice,  which  renders  the 
proceedings  against  him  so  odious.  Some  of  the 
libels  which,  in  his  defence,  ho  showed  had  been 
levelled  at  particular  members  of  the  House,  through 
the  press,  against  other  members,  reflected  upon  a 
previous  Parliament;  but  if  English  precedent  be 
worth  any  thing,  no  right  is  clearer  than  that  of  one 
House  to  punish  for  libels  upon  a  previous  House. 
If  the  Assembly  could  punish  for  libel  at  all,  it  could 
punish  for  libels  upon  a  previous  Assembly.  The 
punishment  in  Mr.  Mackenzie's  case,  was  altogether 
unusual.  Deprivation  of  his  seat  was  wholly  unjusti- 
fiable. 

The  feeling  excited  in  the  unbiassed  reader's  own 
mind,  as  he  goes  over  this  recital,  will  be  no  safe  indi- 
cation of  the  degree  of  public  indignation  aroused  by 
this  atrocious  mockery  of  justice.  During  the  week  of 
the  sham  trial,  petitions  to  the  Lieutenant  Governor 
were  numerously  signed,  praying  him  to  dismiss  a 
House  tainted  with  the  worst  vices  of  judicial  par- 
tiality. For  the  result  had  been  foreseen  by  the 
preliminary  divisions.  On  the  day  of  the  expulsion, 
a  deputation  from  the  petitioners  waited  upon  the 
Governor's  private  secretary,  and  informed  him  that 
next  day,  at  two  o'clock,  a  number  of  the  petitioners 
would  go  to  Government  House  in  a  body,  to  receive 
his  Excellency's  reply.    At  the  appointed  hour,  nine 


THE    CANADIAN   REBKLLION. 


221 


liuiulrccl  and  thirty  persons  proceeded  to  fulfil  their 
mission.  They  were  received  in  tlie  audience  chamber; 
and  the  petition  having  been  presented,  they  were 
dismissed  with  the  studiously  curt  reply:  "  Gentlemen, 
I  have  received  the  petition  of  the  inhabitants." 

IJut  the  precautions  taken  betrayed  the  fears  of  the 
Government.  "  The  Government  House,"  says  Mr. 
Mackenzie,  in  a  fragment  of  manuscript  relating  to 
the  event,  "  was  protected  with  cannon,  loaded,  served, 
and  ready  to  be  fired  on  the  people ;  the  regiment  in 
garrison  was  supplied  with  a  double  allowance  of  ball 
cartridges,  and  a  telegraph  placed  on  the  viceroyal 
residence  to  command  the  services  of  the  soldiers  if 
necessary."  There  were  even  then  some  who  urged 
an  appeal  to  force ;  and  the  strange  supposition  seems 
to  have  been  entertained  that  the  Scotch  soldiers 
would  not  fire  upon  them.*  Mackenzie  checked  the 
impetuosity  of  the  more  ardent  spirits,  who  advised 
violent  measures.  He  had  strong  confidence  in  the 
disposition  of  the  new  Reform  ministry  in  England,  to 
do  justice  to  the  Province  ;  and  he  inculcated  the  ne- 
cessity of  patience. 

What  his  enemies  intended  to  make  the  day  of  his 
humiliation  and  ruin,  proved  ihc:  day  of  his  triumph. 
The  violence  exercised  toward  him  by  the  dominant 
faction  won  for  him  the  sympathies  of  the  people. 
After  the  return  of  the  petitioners  from  the  Govern- 
ment House,  they  proceeded  to  the  residence  of  Mr. 
Mackenzie,  in  Richmond  street,  largely  reinforced. 
The  man  rejected  by  the  Assembly,  as  a  libeller,  was 

*  I  find  that  even  now  some  of  the  active  men  of  those  times  are  still  of  this 
opinion ;  and  speak  in  a  tone  of  the  greatest  confidence. 


I  t'l 


:i 


L, 


222 


LIFE   OF    MACKENZIE,  AND 


it' 


carried  through  the  streets  amidst  the  acclamations  of 
the  populace,  who  took  this  emphfitic  way  of  testify- 
ing their  approbation  of  his  conduct,  and  of  their 
determination  to  uphold  the   rights  of  a  free  press, 
which  they  felt  had   been   outraged   in   his   person. 
Among  other  places,  the  procession  stopped  at  the 
Parliament  House  and  cheered.     They  were  cheers  of 
triumph    and   defiance;  telling  how  quickly  the  de- 
cision of  the  Assembly  had  been  reversed  by  that 
public  opinion,  to  which  all  elective  bodies  are  ulti- 
mately accountable.    At  the  office   of  the  Guardian 
newspaper,  then  edited  by  the  Rev.  Egerton  Ryerson, 
who  had  warmly  espoused  the  cause  of  Mr.  Macken- 
zie, the  procession  halted  to  give  three  cheers.     From 
a  window  of  the  Sun  Hotel,  Mr.  Mackenzie  addressed 
the  people ;  and  cheers  were  given  for  the   "  Sailor 
King,"  and  for  Earl  Grey  and  the  Reform  ministry. 
When  Mr.  Mackenzie  had  retired,  the  meeting  was 
reorganized,  and  resolutions  were  passed,  sustaining 
the  course  he  had  taken  as  a  politician  and  a  journal- 
ist ;  complaining  of  the  reply  of  the  Lieutenant  Gover- 
nor to  the  petitioners  as  unsatisfactory  and  insulting; 
asserting  the  propriety  of  petitioning  the  Sovereign  to 
send  to  the  Province,  in  future,  civil  instead  of  mili- 
tary Governors ;  and  pledging  the  meeting,  as  a  mark 
of  their  approbation  of  his  conduct,  to  present  Mr. 
Mackenzie  with  "  a  gold  medal  accompanied  by  an 
appropriate  inscription  and  address." 

At  the  same  sitting  at  which  the  expulsion  of  Mr. 
Mackenzie  had  been  decreed,  the  House  had  ordered 
the  issue  of  a  new  writ  for  the  election  of  a  member 
in  his  place.    The  election  was  held  at  the  Red  Lion 


THE    CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


223 


Inn,  Yonge  street,  on  the  2nd  of  January.  By  what 
accident  it  is  not  necessary  to  determine,  the  election 
took  place  on  the  same  day  on  which  the  town  meet- 
ings were  held  throughout  the  county  ;  but  in  spite 
of  this  coincidence  over  two  thousand  persons  were 
present.  There  was  a  show  of  opposition  made  to  the 
re-election  of  Mr.  Mackenzie ;  but  any  thing  so  pitiful 
had  seldom  been  witnessed.  Mr.  Street  was  nomi- 
nated by  Mr.  Edward  Thomson,  and  supported  by 
the  influence  of  Mr.  Washburn,  a  candidate  at  the 
previous  election.  Forty  sleighs  had  come  into  town 
in  the  morning  to  escort  Mr.  Mackenzie  to  the  polling 
place.  An  hour  and  a  half  after  the  poll  opened,  Mr. 
Street,  having  received  only  one  vote,  against  one 
hundred  and  nineteen  cast  for  Mr.  Mackenzie,  aban- 
doned the  hopeless  contest. 

After  the  close  of  the  poll,  came  the  presentation 
of  the  gold  medal.  It  cost  $250,  and  was  accounted 
"a  superb  piece  of  workmanship."  The  medal  and 
chain  weighed  one  hundred  and  eighty-two  dwts.,  or 
over  nine  ounces.  On  one  side  were  the  rose,  the 
thistle,  and  the  shamrock,  encircled  by  the  words, 
"  His  Majesty  King  William  IV.,  the  people's  friend." 
On  the  reverse  was  the  inscription  :  "  Presented  to 
William  L.  Mackenzie,  Esq.,  by  his  constituents  of  the 
county  of  York,  U.  C,  as  a  token  of  their  approbation 
of  his  political  career,  January  2,  1832."  The  mas- 
sive cable  chain,  attached  to  the  medal,  contained  forty 
Hnks  of  about  one  inch  each  in  length. 


'  i 


ki 


'  f 


224 


LIFE   OF  MACKENZIE,  AND 


1  '.  ■ 


1  --» 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Triumphal  Entry  into  York — A  Body  of  Electors  force  through  the  outer  door 
of  the  Legislative  Building — Commotion  in  the  Galleries,  on  a  motion  for 
Re-expulsion  being  made — Solicitor  General  Hagerman  prevails  upon  the 
House  to  declare  a  Disability  unknown  to  the  Law — One  hour  for  the  Ac- 
cused to  make  his  Defence — The  Abuse  of  Privilege — Specimen  of  a  Solici- 
tor General's  powers  of  Vituperation — Mackenzie's  Defence  cut  short  by 
the  Spcalcer  and  the  House — The  Legislative  Council  call  on  the  House  to 
afford  it  Eeparation  for  an  alleged  Libel — Impassioned  Appeal  to  the  Elec^ 
tors  of  York — Re-election  after  the  Second  Expulsion — Proposed  Address 
for  Dissolution — Bank  Bills  carried  in  Mackenzie's  absence. 

The  return  to  York  was  a  triumphal  procession. 
An  immense  sleigh,  belonging  to  Mr.  Montgomery, 
constructed  with  an  upper  story,  carried,  besides  the 
members  elect,  over  twenty  others,  with  a  couple  of 
Scottish  pipers.  Over  fifty  sleighs  joined  the  pro- 
cession, which  numbered  over  a  thousand  persons. 
A  small  printing  press,  emblematic  of  the  instrument 
of  victory,  kept  in  order  by  the  warmth  of  a  fur- 
nace, was  throwing  off  impressions  as  the  monster 
sleigh  moved  along.  Among  the  numerous  flags 
that  surmounted  the  sleigh  carrying  the  re-elected 
member,  one  bore  the  device,  "  The  Liberty  of  the 
Press ;"  another,  "  Mackenzie  and  the  People."  As 
Government  House  and  the  Parliament  Building  were 
passed,  the  deafening  cheers  of  the  throng  announced 
the  reversal  of  the  decision  of  the  House  of  Assam- 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


225 


bly,  by  the  freeholders  of  the  county  of  York.  Seve- 
ral soldiers  of  the  79th  regiment  went  to  the  election, 
and  rode  back  on  the  sleighs.  They  appear  to  have 
gone  for  the  purpose  of  enjoying  the  excitement ;  and 
as  their  presence  was  contrary  to  law,  the  government 
papers  strongly  censured  the  commanding  officer  for 
permitting  them  to  attend. 

When  Mr.  Mackenzie  returned  to  the  House,  with 
the  unanimous  approbation  of  his  constituents,  the 
question  of  re-expulsion  was  immediately  brought  up.* 

*  "  House  of  Assembly.  Tuesday,  January  3rd,  1832, 

"  On  the  Speaker  announcing  to  the  House  the  return  of  William  Lyon 
Mackenzie,  Esquire,  a  member  for  the  county  of  York — 

"Mr.  Vunkoughnet,  seconded  by  Mr.  McNab,  moved  "  That  it  be  resolved, 
that  the  entries  on  the  Journals  of  the  12th  December  last,  relating  to  the  ex- 
pulsion of  William  Lyon  Mackenzie,  Esq.,  be  now  read. 

Mr.  Vankoughnet  also  read  to  the  House  the  two  following  resolutions, 
which  he  declared  to  contain  the  object  he  had  in  view  by  moving  the  above 
resolve : 

"Mr.  Vankoughnet,  seconded  by  Mr.  McNab,  moves  that  William  Lyon 
Mackenzie,  Esq.,  returned  a  member  to  represent  the  county  of  York  in  Pro- 
vincial Parliament,  having  been  expelled  this  House  during  this  present 
session  for  the  publication  of  certain  gross,  scandalous,  and  malicious  libels,  in- 
tended and  calculated  to  bring  this  House  and  the  Government  of  the  Province 
into  contompt,  and  excite  groundless  suspicion  and  distrust  in  the  minds  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Province,  as  to  the  proceedings  and  motives  of  their  Repre- 
sentatives ;  and  having  made  no  reparation  or  atonement  for  his  said  offence, 
but  on  the  contrary,  in  the  interval  between  his  said  expulsion  and  subsequent 
re-oloction,  having,  in  a  certain  newspaper  called  the  Colonial  Advocate,  of 
T7hich  he,  the  said  William  Lyon  Mackenzie,  has  avowed  himself  the  proprietor, 
and  responsible  for  the  matter  therein  published,  endeavored  to  justify  and 
maintain  the  said  gross,  scandalous,  and  malicious  libels,  in  high  contempt  of 
this  House  and  its  privileges  ;  he,  the  said  William  Lyon  Mackenzie,  is  unfit 
and  unworthy  to  be  a  member  of  this  House,  and  that  his  seat  therein  be  there- 
fore declared  vacant. 

"Mr.  Vankoughnet,  seconded  by  Mr.  McNab,  moves  that  it  be  resolved. 
That  the  Speaker  of  this  House  do  issue  his  Warrant  to  the  Clerk  of  the  Crown 
in  Chancery,  for  a  new  writ  for  the  election  of  a  member  to  serve  in  the  pre- 
sent Parliament  as  Kepresentative  of  the  county  of  York,  in  the  stead  of  the 
29 


vJ 


'Vi\ 


•.« 


;a 


226 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


While  he  stood  at  the  bar  of  the  House,  waiting  to  be 
sworn  in,  Messrs.  Vankoughnet  and  McNab  raised 
the  question,  but  the  majority  of  the  House  seemed 
disinclined  to  ir^cur  the  odium  of  a  second  expulsion; 
an  amendment  to  proceed  to  the  order  of  the  day 
being  carried  by  a  vote  of  twenty-four  against  twenty. 
The  motion  was  met  by  hisses  below  the  bar,  which 
were  only  suppressed  by  a  threat  to  clear  the  House  of 
strangers.  The  crowd  of  voters  who  had  accompanied 
their  re-elected  representative  to  York,  pushed  their 
way  into  the  House.  An  attempt  was  made  to  pre- 
vent their  entering  the  lobby ;  but  they  forced  through 
the  outer  door  and  got  in. 

The  movers  in  the  business  had  not  put  the  case  very 
skilfully.  They  had  complained  of  alleged  libels,  as 
calculated  to  bring  the  government  as  well  as  the 
House  into  contemj)t ;  as  if  the  House,  in  addition  to 
being  the  guardian  of  its  own  privileges,  had  also  been 
a  constitutional  screen  for  the  protection  of  the  gov- 
ernment from  censure.     No  new  libel  was  charged; 

said  William  Lyon  Mackenzie,  \  ao  has  been  declared  unfit  and  unworthy  to 
be  a  member  of  this  House.' 

•'  In  amendment  to  Messrs.  Vankoughnet  and  McNab's  first  resolutior, 
Mr.  Perry  moved,  in  substance,  that  the  House  should  proceed  to  the  other  or- 
dinary business  of  the  day,  and  drop  all  further  proceedings  in  the  libel  case. 

"  In  favor  of  dropping  the  proceedings,  and  against  Mr.  Vankoughnet's 
resolutions,  voted  Messrs.  Attorney  General,  Beardsley,  Bidwell,  Buell,  Camp- 
bell, Clark,  Cook,  Duncombo,  Howard,  Ingersoll,  Ketchum,  Lyons,  McCall, 
McDonald,  A.,  McDonald,  D.,  Morris,  Norton,  Perry,  Bandal,  Boblin,  Sam- 
son, Shaver,  Willson,  W.,  and  Warren — 24. 

For  proceeding  with  Mr.  Vankoughnet's  resolutions  for  re-expelling  Mr, 
Mackenzie,  or  rather  of  preventing  him  from  taking  his  seat,  and  ordering  a 
new  election,  (he  having  declared  that  step  to  be  the  object  of  his  first  resolve,) 
voted  Messrs.  Berczy,  G.  Boulton,  Brown,  Burwell,  Crooks,  Elliott,  Frasor,  A„ 
Jarvis,  Jones,  McMartin,  McNab,  Ma9on,  Mount,  Bobinson,  Shade,  Solicitor 
General,  Thomson,  Chisholm,  Vankoughnet,  and  Werden — 20. 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


227 


ghnet's 
Camp- 
McCall, 
,  Sam- 

ng  Mr. 
ering  a 
osolve,) 
per,  A., 
lolicitor 


and  the  only  offence  that  concerned  the  House  con- 
sisted of  an  attempt  to  justify  what  the  majority  had 
previously  voted  a  libel  and  a  breach  of  privilege. 
The  question  raised  was  rather  one  of  disability  than 
of  any  new  offence.  I^  was  probably  owing  to  the 
fact  that  the  majority  saw  this  ground  to  be  untenable 
that  they  refused  to  sanction  the  motion.  The  House 
bad  an  undoubted  right  to  expel  any  member  for  ade- 
quate cause ;  but  it  had  no  right  to  create  a  disability 
unknown  to  the  law. 

Solicitor  Greneral  Hagerman,  who  appears  to  have 
known  more  of  Parliamentary  law  than  either  Mr. 
Vankoughnet  or  Mr.  McNab,  felt  that  it  was  neces- 
sary, in  bringing  up  the  question  of  the  re-expulsion,  to 
go  upon  the  ground  of  a  new  libel  upon  the  House. 
He  therefore  moved,  January  6th,  a  resolution  declar- 
ing certain  matter  which  had  appeared  in  the  Colonial 
Advocate  of  the   previous   day,*  and  of  which  Mr. 

*  The  following  are  the  only  passages  that  reflect  upon  the  House : — 

"I  have  charged  the  present  House  of  Assembly  with  sycophancy,  in  my  ca- 
pacity of  a  public  journalist ;  I  here  before  you  and  in  the  face  of  the  world 
reiterate  that  charge,  as  applied  to  the  majority  of  its  members. 

"They  have  passed,  at  the  request  of  the  local  Executive,  and  contrary  to 
British  Constitutional  principle,  the  everlasting  salary  bill;  refusing  at  the 
same  time  to  limit  its  operation  to  the  present  reign ;  refusing  to  provide  for 
the  independence  of  the  judges  on  the  Executive,  while  they  secured  to  them 
for  ever  the  most  extravagant  incomes;  refusing  also  to  inquire  into  the 
wasteful  and  dangerous  system  of  applying  the  greater  part  of  the  revenue  by 
a  power  unknown  to  the  constitution;  refusing  to  exclude  the  judges  from 
seats  in  the  Legislative  and  Executive  Council ;  refusing  to  exclude  bishops, 
archdeacons,  and  gospel  preachers  from  seats  in  the  Executive  Council ;  and 
refusing  to  curtail  the  extravagance  of  the  Council  clerk,  and  the  unjust 
charges  of  the  Crown  officers,  before  these  officers  had  voted  themselves  and 
their  successors,  and  the  said  clerk  and  his  successors,  incomes  out  of  the  taxes 
forever. 

"  They  have  imitated  the  Legislative  Council  in  squandering  your  revenues 


^i 


i'» 


"1 3  n 


228 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


Mackenzie  admitted  himself  to  be  the  author,  to  be  a 
false,  scandalous,  and  malipious  libel  upon  the  House 

under  the  head  of  contingencies  ;  thoy  double  and  treble  the  incomes  of  some 
of  their  servants,  grant  the  most  extraordinary  demands  for  services,  care- 
lessly examine  accounts,  and  openly  vote  down,  session  after  session,  ordinary 
motions  of  inquiry  into  the  items  of  expense  which  compose  the  thousands  of 
pounds  demanded  in  a  lump  from  time  to  time  as  contingencies  by  the  Legis- 
lative  Council.  Adding  together  the  probable  incidental  charges  of  the  two 
Houses,  from  March  last  until  March  next,  we  shall  have  about  ,£9,000.  And 
as  the  whole  expense  of  their  sittings,  £25,000.  The  Legislature  of  Vermont 
costs  annually  about  half  as  many  dollars,  including  the  salary  of  Governor, 
judges,  and  all  other  charges;  yet  the  population  of  Vermont  exceeds  ours. 

"  They  allowed  the  St.  Lawrence  to  remain  unimproved,  although  its  being 
made  navigable  would  have  benefitted  everybody ;  and  neglected  further  to 
encourage  education,  although  the  people  cried  out  for  it ;  they  put  a  negative 
m  their  flrpt,  session  upon  the  bill  for  distribution  of  intestate  estate,  although 
Upper  Canada  had  but  one  voice  in  its  favor ;  they  delayed  and  refused  to  pass 
the  Clergy  Keserve  address  in  the  same  session,  lest  (as  they  said)  the  peti- 
tioners by  Mr.  Kyerson  should  profit  by  it;  and  found,  nevertheless,  £50,000 
to  expend  on  Welland  Canal,  an  unprofitable  undertaking,  a  job  prematurely 
gone  into  for  the  advantage  of  a  few  oflScers  of  this  government,  legislative 
counsellors,  and  speculators  in  waste  lands. 

"  They  neglected  your  numerous  petitions,  presented  by  myself  and  other 
friendly  members,  praying  for  the  passage  of  many  salutary  enactments,  or 
delivered  them  into  the  custody  and  safe  keeping  of  placemen,  by  whom  I  had 
been  personally  insulted  and  defamed  as  a  rebel  and  traitor ;  and  by  this  means 
prevented  several  useful  bills  being  introduced  into  the  House  on  your  peti- 
tions. 

"They  passed  the  obnoxious  York  Market  Bill  in  opposition  to  your  peti- 
tions ;  and  in  defiance  of  the  protestations  of  your  members,  they  negatived  and 
condemned  the  principle  of  voting  by  ballot ;  they  disapproved  by  their  votes  of 
the  excellent  principle  of  regulating  by  law  the  sales  of  all  public  or  Crown 
lands,  and  preferred  the  present  secret  or  corrupt  system;  they  refused  to  cen- 
sure the  Lieutf^nant  Governor  for  keeping  back  this  election  twenty-one  days 
instead  of  eight,  in  order  that  it  might  interfere  with  your  town-meetings  and 
delay  my  return  ;  they  refused  to  inquire  into  the  Tea  Monopoly,  by  which 
you  are  so  heavily  taxed ;  they  refused  to  remonstrate  against  the  principle  of 
the  trade  act  of  last  April,  so  deeply  affecting  your  interests ;  they  allow  the 
important  statements  respecting  extravagant  pensions,  salaries,  fees,  and  law 
charges  to  slumber  on  their  shelves,  and  thereby  increase  the  incomes  of  attor- 
neys, bailiffs,  sheriffs,  and  other  public  functionaries  at  the  expense  of  justice 
and  good  government;  they  neglect  to  inquire  into  the  details  of  the  many 


THE   CANADIAN   REBE.  LION. 


229 


of  Assembly,  and  a  high  breach  of  its  privileges ;  that 
the  author  be  expelled  the  House,  and  declared  un- 
worthy to  hold  a  seat  therein  *     Mr.   Hagerman  had 

thousands  of  pounds  granted  for  road  and  bridge  improvements ;  they  neglect 
to  inquire  into  the  whole  provinc'al  expenditure,  and  to  provide  due  checks  on 
the  revenue  officers ;  they  propose  to  double  the  power  of  the  political  bank  at 
this  place,  and  they  get  rid  of  motions  for  inquiring  into  the  state  of  its  aflairs 
by  motions  for  adjournment. 

"  They  appoint  committees  on  the  state  of  the  representation  of  the  people 
in  thoir  own  House,  and  refuse  to  allow  said  committees  to  report. 

"Tlicy  get  rid  of  bills  for  the  general  regulation  of  Banking;  revenue  in- 
qiliries;  bank  inquiries;  inquiries  into  salaries,  incomes,  fees,  and  perquisites ; 
bills  to  amend  the  representation  ;  inquiries  into  fines,  forfeitures,  seizures,  and 
the  application  of  the  same,  and  of  your  opposition  to  destructive  monopolies,  by 
summarily  expelling  a  member  you  sent  to  attend  to  these  matters. 

"They  (the  said  majority)  are  chiefly  placemen,  during  pleasure,  such  as 
sherills,  crown  lawyers,  postmasters,  judges,  registrars,  custom-house  officers, 
military  men  on  half  pay  or  retired  allowances,  collectors  of  the  customs  elect, 
&c.,  &c.,  who  receive  from  the  government  six  if  not  ten  times  the  amountthey 
obtained  from  the  people  as  legislators.  They  are  the  enemies  of  free  discus- 
sion through  the  press,  although  such  free  discussion  of  the  conduct  of  public 
men  is  your  best  guarantee  for  the  preservation  of  the  rights  of  freemen." 

*"  January  6,  1832. — Mr.  Solicitor  General,  seconded  by  Mr.  Elliott, 
moves  that  it  be  resolved,  That  William  Lyon  Mackenzie,  Esq.,  a  member 
returned  to  represent  the  county  of  York,  in  Provincial  Parliament,  has  been 
expelled  this  House  during  the  present  session  for  the  publication  of  certain 
gross,  scandalous,  and  malicious  libels,  intended  and  calculated  to  bring  this 
House  and  the  Government  of  this  Province  into  contempt,  and  to  excite 
groundless  suspicion  and  distrust  in  the  minds  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Pro- 
vince as  to  the  proceedings  and  motives  of  their  representatives. 

"That  since  his  re-election,  in  a  certain  newspaper  called  the  Colonial  Advo- 
cate, dated  5th  January,  instant,  in  an  ariicle  therein  published,  entitled, 
'Articles  of  Impeachment,  or  public  accusations  read  and  submitted  to  the 
consideration  of  the  electors  of  the  county  of  York,  in  County  Court  assem- 
bled, on  Monday,  January  2,  1832,  by  Mr.  Mackenzie,  their  late  member, 
against  the  Lieutenant  Governor  and  the  advisers  of  the  Crown,'  of  which  he 
has  avowed  himself  the  author,  has,  in  high  contempt  of  this  House  and  its 
prlvilcgos,  not  only  ro-nssortod  the  said  gross,  scandalous,  and  malicious  libel, 
for  which  he,  the  said  William  Lyon  Mackenzie,  had  been  expelled;  but  hath 
also  in  the  said  articles  oiKloavorod,  by  false,  scandalous,  and  malicious  repre- 
sentations, to  cause  His  Majesty's  subji'cts  of  this  Province  to  believe  that  the 


1 


i  ii\ 


.:i 


230 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,    AND 


the  prudence  to  leave  out  of  view  the  general  censures 
on  the  Executive  Council,  and  the  demand  for  the  dis- 
missal of  himself  and  Attorney  General  Boulton, 
which  were  to  be  found  in  the  article,  part  of  which 
he  brought  forward  as  a  ground  for  expelling  the  au- 
thor from  the  House.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed,  how- 
ever, that  he  was  insensible  to  these  reflections ;  and 
the  Imperial  Goverment  afterwards  took  the  advice 
of  Mr.  Mackenzie  to  dismiss  both  these  functionaries. 
One  of  the  principal  grounds  of  that  dismissal  was 
the  part  they  took  in  the  expulsion  of  a  political  op- 
ponent from  the  House,  upon  pretexts  that  were 
deemed  to  be  constitutionally  untenable. 

Only  one  hour  was  given  to  Mr.  Mackenzie  to  pre- 
pare his  defence,  during  which  the  House  adjourned. 
On  its  re-assembling,  the  clerk,  at  the  request  of  the 
accused,  read  the  whole  of  the  article — part  of  which 
was  complained  of  as  a  libel  upon  the  House — ex- 
tending to  more  than  fivf  newspaper  columns. 

majority  of  their  Representatives  should  be  held  in  execration  and  abhorrence 
by  posterity,  as  enemies  to  the  liberties  of  the  people  they  represent — as  persons 
who  would,  by  violent  and  unconstitutional  means,  destroy  the  liberty  of  tho 
press,  and  convert  the  fifty  members  of  which  the  House  is  composed  into 
tyrants  in  close  and  unholy  alliance  with  trained  bands  of  pnblic  robbers:— 
Wherefore,  It  is  resolved  that  the  said  William  Lyon  Mackenzie  be  expelled 
this  Hcise,  and  declared  unfit  and  unworthy  to  hold  a  seat  therein. 

"In  amendment.  Mr.  McNab,  seconded  1\  Mr.  Vankoughnet,  moves, 
that  after  the  word  •  therein,'  the  following  be  added,  •  during  the  present  ses- 
sion of  Parliament.* 

"  Debates  ensued,  and  the  House  adjourned." 

•'Satttrdat,  January  7,  1832.— Mr.  Perry,  seconded  by  Mr.  Shaver, 
moves  that  so  much  of  the  order  of  the  day  as  relates  to  the  question  of  pri- 
vilege be  discharged.     Lost — Yeas  17,  Nays  22. 

"  Mr.  McNab's  amendment  (see  above,  Jan.  6,)  was  then  carried.  Nays  19, 
Yeas  27. 

•'  The  final  question,  as  thus  amended,  was  then  carried.    Yeas  27,  Nays  19. 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


231 


Such  an  article  would  not  now  arrest  the  attention 
of  the  House ;  much  less  cause  its  author  to  be  pun- 
ished for  libel,  in  any  shape.  Whether,  technically- 
speaking,  it  was  libellous  or  not,  it  was  far  less  so 
than  many  articles  in  other  newspapers,  some  of  them 
written  by  members  of  the  Assembly,  and  of  which 
the  writers  were  neither  prosecuted  in  the  courts,  nor 
expelled  from  the  House. 

Solicitor  General  Hagerman  showed  a  disposition 
to  Of  :Ty  the  abuse  of  privilege  as  far  as  the  most  des- 
potic sovereign  had  ever  carried  the  abuse  of  prero- 
gative. That  he  had  no  natural  dislike  of  libels  he 
clearly  proved,  by  the  profuse  use  he  made  of  them 
under  cover  of  that  very  privilege  in  the  name  of 
which  he  asked  the  expulsion  of  a  fellow  member.* 
He  described  Mr.  Mackenzie  as  "  the  worst  of  slan- 
derers," who  "  would  govern  by  means  of  the  knife, 
and  walk  over  the  bleeding  bodies  of  his  victims." 
Of  the  minority  of  the  House,  he  said,  if  they  con- 
tinued there,  they  "  would  continue  as  slanderers,  or 
supporters  of  slanderers."  "  Mr.  Mackenzie,"  he  said, 
when  he  had  closed  his  defence,  "cast  a  malignant 
and  wicked  glare  across  the  House ;"  and  that  "  at 
that  moment,  he  left  what  was  most  virtuous  within 
the  walls,  and  took  away  what  was  the  most  vile  and 
debased."  When,  in  the  course  of  his  defence,  Mr. 
Mackenzie  read  extracts  from  the  speeches  of  Sir 

*When  the  question  of  Mr.  Mackenzie's  first  expulsion  was  before  tho 
House,  Mr.  Hagerman,  after  disclaiming  all  personal  feeling  in  the  premises, 
said,  "  he  would  now  vote  for  Mr.  Mackenzie's  expulsion  ;  but  if  he  should  be 
re-elected,  he  would  be  the  first  to  receive  him ;  he  would  not  interfere  with 
the  elective  franchise ;  he  would  leave  to  the  people  the  free  choice  of  their 
representatives." 


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232 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,    AND 


Francis  Burdett,  Earl  Grey,  Lord  Brougham,  Mr. 
Macaulay,  and  others,  the  Solicitor  General  exclaimed 
that  they  were  "base  and  diabolical."  Here  were 
libels  a  hundred  times  worse  than  that  against  which 
they  were  uttered.  The  difference  was,  that  the  So- 
licitor General,  as  a  member  of  the  House,  was  treated 
as  a  privileged  libeller ;  though  assuredly  the  use  of 
language  which  from  its  violence  strikes  at  the  very 
existence  of  deliberative  assemblies,  by  tending  to 
render  all  discussion  impossible,  could  hardly  be  in 
order. 

Mr.  Mackenzie  attempted  to  convince  the  House  of 
its  error,  by  showing  that  it  was  setting  itself  in  oppo- 
sition to  public  opinion  ;  and  pointing  in  proof  to  the 
approbation  of  his  constituents,  as  shown  both  by  his 
re-election,  and  the  gold  medal  that  had  been  pre- 
sented to  him.  He  then  took  out  of  his  pocket  the 
massive  gold  medal,  and  by  means  of  the  enormous 
chain  of  the  same  material  suspended  it  round  his 
neck ;  declaring  that  he  would  wear  it  while  he  held 
his  seat,  if  it  were  only  for  an  hour.  The  alleged 
libel  had  been  read  by  him  at  the  hustings ;  and  after 
the  electors  had  heard  it,  only  one  person  could  be 
found  to  vote  against  him.  This  was  pretty  strong 
proof  of  public  opinion,  in  the  metropolitan  county 
of  the  Province ;  and  no  doubt  the  result  would  have 
been  the  same  if  the  appeal  had  been  to  any  other 
populous  county  in  the  Province.  The  county  of 
York  had  an  unequal  representation  in  the  House; 
and  the  matter  would  be  made  worse  by  depriving  it 
of  one  of  its  members.  The  constituency  that  had 
approved  his  conduct  and  sent  him  back  was  on  its 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


233 


trial ;  and  if  he  were  expelled,  the  electors  "  would  feel 
it  their  duty  to  come  to  the  bar  pnd  defend  their 
rights."  The  Solicitor  General  objected  to  the  lati- 
tude taken  by  the  accused ;  and  the  Spoakev,  being 
appealed  to,  declined  to  interfere ;  but  he  expressed  a 
hope  that  "too  great  latitude  would  :iot  be  taken." 
After  two  or  three  other  attempts  oi.  the  part  of  the 
Solicitor  Greneral  to  stop  the  defence,  on  such  grounds 
as  that  the  reading  of  extracts  from  the  English  press 
to  show  the  degree  of  liberty  allowed  there  to  criti- 
cisms upon  Parliament,  the  Speaker  declared  Mr. 
Mackenzie  out  of  order.  Having  appealed  against  the 
decision  of  the  Speaker,  whom  the  House  sustained 
by  a  large  majority,  Mr.  Mackenzie  resolved  to  at- 
tempt no  more.  It  was,  he  said,  a  farce  and  a  mock- 
ery for  the  House  to  call  on  him  to  make  his  defence, 
and  then  prevent  his  proceeding.  He  disdained  to 
attempt  any  further  defence  before  such  a  tribunal. 
He  then,  according  to  the  report  of  a  journal  violent- 
ly opposed  to  him,  tied  up  his  papers,  "  after  giving 
them  a  kick  or  two  to  put  them  in  order,  and  walked 
out  of  the  House  amidst  loud  cries  of  '  order'  from  all 
sides." 

The  question  was  soon  settled;  the  House  voting  the 
re-expulsion,  by  nine  o'clock,  the  second  day  of  the  dis- 
cussion, on  a  division  of  twenty-seven  against  nineteen.* 

•  Teas— Messrs.  Attorney  General,  Berczy,  G.  Boulton,  Brown,  Burwell, 
Chisholin,  Crooks,  Elliott,  A.  Frazer,  Jarvis,  Jones,  Lewis,  Magon,  McMartin, 
NcNub,  Morris,  Mount,  Robinson,  Samson,  Shade,  Solicitor  General,  Thom- 
son, Vankoughnet,  Warren,  John  Willson,  W.  "Wilson,  and  Werden — 27. 

Nays— Messrs.   Beardsley,  Bidwell,  BucU,  Campbell,  Clark,  Cook,  Dun- 
combe,  Howard,   Ketchum,  Lyons,   McCall,  A.  McDonald,  D.   McDonald, 
Norton,  Perry,  Randal,   Roblin,   Shaver,  and  White — 19.      Mr.   Ingorsoll, 
\?ho  was  out  of  the  Ilouse,  would  have  voted  with  the  majority. 
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234 


LIl'K   OF    MACKENZIE,    AND 


The  resolution,  forget!  in  tlie  mint  of  the  Solicitor  Gene- 
ral, went  much  beyond  a  mere  cxpulHion.  It  declared 
the  expelled  member  incapable  of  holding  a  seat  in  the 
House  during  that  Parliament ;  thus  assuming  that  a 
mere  resolution  of  the  House  could  create  a  disability 
to  which  nothing  short  of  a  specific  law  could  give  legal 
force  *  H  the  object  of  Mr.  Hagerman  had  been  to 
place  the  House  in  the  wrong,  he  could  not  have  suc- 
ceeded more  effectually. 

On  the  day  that  this  second  expulsion  was  proposed, 
the  Legislative  Council  came  to  the  aid  of  the  Assem- 
bly. It  complained  of  being  libelled  in  the  same  arti- 
cle that  had  been  ar^'aigned  in  the  other  branch  of  the 
Legislature ;  and  instead  of  addressing  the  Governor 
to  order  a  prosecution  of  the  publisher  for  libel,  it 
sent  to  the  Assembly  resolutions,  containing  a  "confi- 
dent reliance"  that  the  House  "  will  view  with  just 
indignation  the  efforts  made  by  one  of  their  members 
for  impairing  the  independence  of  the  Legislative 
Council,  and  diminishing  the  respect  which  is  due  to 
them  as  a  part  of  the  constitution  of  this  Province, 
and  that  they  will  desire  to  afford  reparation  to  the 
Legislative  Council  for  so  unwarrantable  a  breach  of 
their  privileges. "f    Supposing  this  complaint  of  libel  to 

*  "If,"  says  May,  in  his  Conttitutional  Hiatory  of  England,  "by  a  vote  of  the 
House  a  disability,  unknown  to  the  law,  could  be  created,  any  man  who  be- 
came obnoxious  might,  on  some  ground  or  other,  be  declared  incapable.  In- 
capacity would  then  be  declared,  not  by  the  law  of  the  land,  but  by  the 
arbitrary  will  of  the  Commons." 

+  On  the  9th  January  the  House  resolved  to  send  a  message  to  the  Legisla- 
tive Council,  in  answer  to  its  resolutions.  "The  Solicitor  General,  seconded 
by  Mr.  Thomson,  moves,  That  it  be  resolved  that  the  Honorable  the  Legisla- 
tive Council  be  informed  that  the  resolutions  of  that  honorable  body  of  the 


^^^ 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


235 


have  been  well-founded,  the  proper  course  would  have 
been  for  the  Council  to  address  the  Governor  to  order 
a  prosecution,  as  was  done  by  the  House  of  Commons, 
in  the  case  of  Wilkes,  who  was  only  expelled  after  he 
had  ahHconded  to  France.  But  there  was  a  very  sub- 
stantial reason  for  avoiding  this  course.  No  convic- 
tion could  have  been  obtained. 

The  alleged  libel  on  the  Legislative  Council  con- 
tained some  plain  truths  which  could  not  but  grate 
harshly  upon  the  ears  of  that  Assembly.  It  also  ex- 
pressed some  opinions,  regarding  which  people  differed 
at  the  time,  and  a  few  about  which  people  still  differ ; 
but  the  number  is  less  now  than  it  was  then.  It  was 
unhappily  true  that  the  Legislative  Council  wus 
crowded  with  placemen  and  Executive  dependents,  and 
Mr.  Mackenzie  had  the  faculty  of  stating  such  unplea- 
sant facts  in  a  way  calculated  to  create  unpleasant 
sensations  in  those  whom  they  affected ;  but  in  this 
case  the  greater  part  of  the  alleged  libel  consisted  of 
a  mere  recital  of  bills  rejected  by  the  Second  Cham- 

Cth  instant  wfire  received  at  the  time  this  House  was  engaged  in  the  investiga- 
tion of  charges  against  the  memher  named  in  those  resolutions  for  an  alleged 
breach  of  the  privileges  of  the  House  of  Assemhly,  which  investigation  has 
resulted  in  the  expulsion  of  the  said  momher  as  unfit  and  unworthy  to  hold  a 
seat  in  this  House,  and  therefore  no  further  proceedings  can  be  had  on  the 
cnmplnint  of  the  Honorable  the  Legislative  Council.  On  which  the  House 
divided,  as  follows : — 

"Yeas — Messrs.  Berczy,  Boulton,  Brown,  Burwell,  Chisholm,  Crooks,  Bun- 
combe, Elliott,  Fraser  A.,  IngersoU,  Jarvis,  Jones,  Lewis,  McMartin,  McNab, 
Majon,  Morris,  Mount,  Robinson,  Samson,  Shade,  Solicitor  General,  Thom- 
son, Warren,  Werden,  Wilson  "W.— 26. 

"Nays— Messrs.  Beardsley,  Bidwell,  Buell,  Campbell,  Clark,  Cook,  How- 
ard, Ketchum,  Lyons,  McCall,  McDonald  A.,  McDonald  D.,  Norton,  Perry, 
Randal,  Roblin,  Shaver,  and  White— 18. 

"Question  carried  ;  majority  eight." 


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236 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


ber.*     Whether  these  measures  were  good  or  bad  was 
a  matter  of  opinion.      Mr.  Mackenzie  thought  they 

•  Here  is  the  alleged  libel : — "  The  Legislative  Council  is  chiefly  composed 
of  persons  dependent  on  the  Executive  government  for  their  salaries,  pensions, 
nnd  fees  of  office,  or  who  have  been  selected  by  that  government,  upon  the 
principle  on  which  the  English  Tories  have  selected  peers  and  bishops  for  the 
last  forty  years,  absolute  and  unlimited  servility.  It  also  contains  naval  and 
military  half-pay  officers,  Eoman  Catholic  and  Protestant  bishops,  veneraUe 
archdeacons,  excise  officers,  and  bank  directors,  and  its  official  organ  is  the 
chief  criminal  judge  of  the  colony.  From  its  very  nature  and  composition  it 
has  scarce  one  feeling  or  sentiment  in  common  with  the  country,  being  the 
mere  breath  of  the  Executive,  and  an  expensive  and  cumbrous  screen  to  shield 
that  Executive  from  deserved  odium. 

"  The  Legislative  Council  rarely,  if  ever,  originates  any  bills  of  general  in- 
terest for  the  advancement  of  the  public  prosperity. 

«« It  has,  on  innumerable  occasions,  rejected  the  most  wise,  salutary  laws- 
laws  earnestly  desired  by  the  people,  and  calculated  to  promote  their  welfare. 
Among  the  measures  thus  wantonly  rt>jected  by  the  Council  since  my  entrance 
into  the  Legislature,  I  shall  particularly  enumerate  bills  for  abolishing  the  law 
of  primogeniture  and  dividing  real  estate  more  equally  among  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  land-owners  who  die  intestate;  for  selling  a  part  of  the  Clergy 
Reserves  for  the  benefit  of  the  country ;  for  rendering  sheriffs  and  their  depu- 
ties  ineligible  to  seats  in  Parliament  for  places  within  their  jurisdiction ;  for 
appointing  commissioners  to  meet  commissioners  already  appointed  by  Lower 
Canada,  to  consider  of  the  regulation  of  trade,  customs'  duties,  and  other  mat- 
ters of  mutual  interest;  for  appointing,  first,  the  Hon.  J.  W.  Willis,  and,  se- 
condly, Mr.  Speaker  Papineau,  to  act  as  a  judge  in  equity  and  reconsider  the 
case  of  Mr.  Eandal's  Chaudiere  estate ;  for  assigning  yards  to  debtors  incarce- 
rated in  prison  ;  for  facilitating  the  administration  of  justice,  by  removing  the 
grounds  on  which  frequent  charges  of  partiality  and  corruption,  or  deep  sus- 
picion of  corruption,  have  often  been  made  against  sheriffs  and  coroners  for 
arbitrarily  returning  and  impanelling  juries ;  for  excluding  the  judges  from 
the  Legislative  and  Executive  Councils ;  for  relieving  Quakers,  Mennonists,  and 
Tunkards  from  the  payment  of  fines  for  non-performance  of  militia  duty  in 
time  of  peace;  for  establishing,  on  a  just  and  li1)eral  principle.  Upper  Canada 
College  in  this  town ;  for  authorizing  creditors  to  sue  for  debts  against  the 
Canada  Company ;  for  allowing  persons  who  may  be  charged  with  felony,  and 
unable  to  defend  themselves,  the  benefit  of  full  defence  by  counsel ;  for  the 
bettor  regulation  of  township  meetings  and  the  duties  of  town  and  township 
officers ;  for  more  fully  securing  the  independence  of  town  members,  by  grant- 
ing them  the  same  wages  as  county  members ;  for  stopping  the  payment  of  an 
Episcopalian  chaplain  when  the  Assembly  no  longer  required  his  services;  for 
allowing  the  people  of  Kingston  to  elect  municipal  officers  instead  of  having 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


237 


were  good,  and  the  expression  of  that  opinion  could 
hardly  be  considered  libellous  by  any  disinterested 
person  in  possession  of  his  reason. 

The  appeal  which  Mr.  Mackenzie  now  made  to  the 
electors* of  York  was  in  his  most  impassioned  style, 
and  may  be  taken  as  a  very  fair  sample  of  his  powers 
of  agitation.  As  such  I  subjoin  a  few  extracts  from  a 
somewhat  unequal,  and  what  lawyers  would  probably 
call  a  seditious,  document : — 

their  local  affairs  regulated  by  a  few  irresponsible  individuals  arbitrarily  se- 
lected by  the  Executive  government;  for  granting  a  small  aid  for  a  few  years 
to  the  Academy  incorporated  in  Grantham ;  for  incorporating  a  number  of  you 
83  an  association  to  hold  your  public  store-house  in  York  and  store  your  grain ; 
for  repealing  the  £2,500,  or  pension-fund  act ;  for  amending  the  law  of  evidence 
and  contracts ;  for  amending  the  law  of  libel;  for  granting  in  1829  £13,650 
in  aid  of  the  roads ;  and  for  authorizing  the  appointment  of  commissioners  of 
roads  and  other  officers  for  the  management  of  highways  by  the  township 
meetings.  Also,  for  lessening  the  number  of  lawsuits  and  authorizing  the  ap- 
pointment of  arbitrators  in  certain  cases,  &c.,  &c. 

"The  Legislative  Council  is  the  cause  of  much  waste  of  time  and  money  in 
the  House  of  Assembly,  by  continually  rejecting  bills  much  called  for  by  the 
people,  which  causes  great  delay  in  the  business  of  the  Assembly  each  year,  in 
again  going  through  and  discussing  the  same  measures.  The  Gourlay  Banish- 
ment Repeal  Bill,  the  Prince  Edward  Division  Bill,  and  several  other  bills  of 
a  general  or  local  character,  were  often  passed  in  the  Lower  House  at  a  great 
expense  to  the  colony,  and  finally  assented  to. 

"The  Legislative  Council  is  opposed  to  a  liberal  system  of  banking,  because 
its  members  are  almost  all  deeply  interested  in  the  political  and  exclusive  bank 
already  cstublished,  as  well  from  their  profits  as  stockholders  as  from  the  influ- 
ence they  derive  as  placemen  from  the  secret  control  of  this  dangerous  institution. 

"The  Legislative  Council  have  passed  addresses  in  fuvor  of  particular  church 
establishments,  and  are  as  much  opposed  to  the  independence  of  the  judges  on 
the  Crown,  as  they  were  anxious  to  secure  their  independence  of  the  people. 
They  have  no  fear  of  the  present  judges  lacking  in  pliability  towards  any  ad- 
ministration. 

"The  Legislative  Council  grant  the  money  arising  from  the  taxes  levied  on 
you  to  their  door-keepers  and  favorites  for  pretended  extra  services,  and  last 
spring  grossly  imposed  upon  the  House  of  Assembly  by  representing  a  demand 
made  to  pay  a  door-keeper  a  douceur  for  some  protended  service  some  years 
before,  as  being  to  pay  contingencies  of  the  then  existing  session." 


I     I 


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mt 


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238 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


"  Canadians !     You  have  seen  a  Gourlay  unlawfully 
banished ;  a  Thorpe  persecuted  and  degraded ;  a  Ran- 
dal cruelly  oppressed ;  a  Matthews  hunted  down  even 
to  the  gates  of'  death ;    a  Willis  dragged  from  the 
bench  of  justice,  slandered,  pursued  even  across  the 
Atlantic  by  envy  and  malice,  and  finally  ruined  in  his 
fame,  fortune,  and  domestic  happiness ;  you  have  seen 
a  thousand  other  less  noted  victims  offered  upon  the 
altar  of  political  hatred  and  party  revenge ;  sacrificed 
for  their  adherence  to  the  principles  of  the  constitu- 
tion ;  their  love  of  liberty  and  justice ;  their  ardent 
desire  to  promote  the  happiness  of  your  domestic  fire- 
sides.    How  many  more  sacrifices  the  shrine  of  unlaw- 
ful power  may  require,  none  can  tell.     The  destroyer 
is  made  bold  by  your  timidity,  and  the  base  and  un- 
principled triumph  over  your  truest  friends,  because 
they  believe  you  will  show  a  craven  spirit,  and  put 
up  with  every  possible  insult,  however  aggravated. 
The  hired  presses  style  you  the  tag-rag  and  bob-tail 
who  assemble  at  town  meetings,  and  in  the  Legisla- 
ture your  most  faithful  members  are  daily  insulted 
and  abused  as  rebels  in  heart,  and  the  factious  abet- 
tors of  the  libeller,  the  disaffected,  and  the  disloyal. 
*    *    *     Had  Charles  X.  profited  by  experience  as 
did  his  brother  Louis  XVIIL,  the  elder  branch  of  the 
Bourbons  had  yet  reigned  in  France.     Louis  was  illu- 
minated by  his  journey  to  Ghent,  and  stuck  by  the 
charter  ever  after.    But  it  is  said  that  our  great  men 
put  their  trust  and  confidence  in  the  troops  at  Kings- 
ton and  in  this  garrison.    Do  they  expect  to  make 
butchers  of  British  soldiers,  the  soldiers  of  liberty, 
the  friends  of  freedom,  the  conquerors  of  the  tyrant 


THE    CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


239 


of  France,  the  gallant  followers  of  the  noble-hearted 
Colonel   Douglas?    Are  these  the  men  they  expect 
to  protect  them  should  continued  misrule  bring  upon 
them  the  indignation  of  an   injured,  outraged,   and 
long-suffering  community?     Do  they  suppose   that 
men  of  honor  would  violate  their  obligation  to  their 
country  and  their  God,  and  imbrue  their  hands  in  the 
blood  of  their  kind  and  confiding  brothers,  to  gratify 
the  bitter  enemies  of  their  noble  King  ?    Surely,  the 
champions  of  British  liberty  are  unfit  to  perform  the 
drmlgery  of  menial  slaves !     Surely,  the  men  whom 
our  beloved  Sovereign  has  sent  here  to  protect  us  from 
foreign  aggression  cannot  desire  to  abridge  our  privi- 
leges.   Their  rights  are    >    s — their  history  our  his- 
tory— their  earliest  recol.  j,;«.on!i'  ours  also !     We  ac- 
knowledge one  common  origin ;  our  fathers  worshipped 
together  in  one  temple.     Does  the  infatuated  junto, 
who  are  now  acting  so  foolishly,  expect  the  bravest  of 
Scotland's  sons  to  sabre  their  countrymen  merely  be- 
cause they  do  not  conform  to  the  doctrines  of  prelacy 
and  follow  the  example  of  Archdeacon  Strachan  to 
apostacy  and  worldly  wealth  ?    Do  they  believe  there 
is  a  soldier  in  Canada  whose  youthful  heart  ever 
bounded  with  joy  in  days  of  yore,  on  old  Scotland's 
hills,  while  he  sang  the  national  air  of  '  Scots  wha  hae 
wi'  Wallace  bled,'  and  whose  manhood  has  been  em- 
ployed in  repelling  foreign  aggression,  who  would  dis- 
grace his  name  and  the  regiment  he  belongs  to  by 
increasing  the  widows  and  orphans  of  Canada  ?    And 
yet,  if  such  are  not  the  expectations  of  our  rulers,  why 
do  they  trifle  with  the  feelings  of  the  people  ?    What 
would  a  handful  of  troops  be  to  the  natural  aristo- 


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240 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


i 


cracy  of  Canada,  the  hardy  yeomanry  who  own  the 
soil,  even  if  the  former  were  of  the  most  ferocious  class 
of  human  beings,  instead  of  the  manly  and  accom- 
plished defenders  of  their  country,  covered  with  im- 
mortal honor  and  unstained  laurels  on  many  a  victo- 
rious battle  field  ?  I  disdain  to  hold  out  threats,  but 
it  is  time  to  speak  with  plainness.    *    *    *  *- 

"  We  come,  at  last,  to  the  leading  question,  What  is 
to  be  done  ?  Meet  together  from  all  sections  of  the 
country,  at  York,  on  Thursday  next,  the  nineteenth 
instant,  in  this  town,  on  the  area  in  front  of  the  court 
houses  let  the  farmer  leave  his  husbandry,  the  me- 
chanic his  tools,  and  pour  forth  your  gallant  popula- 
tion animated  by  the  pure  spirit  of  liberty ;  be  firm 
and  collected — be  determined — be  united — never  trifle 
with  your  rights ;  show  by  your  conduct  that  you  are 
fit  for  the  management  of  your  domestic  affairs,  ripe 
for  freedom,  the  enlightened  subjects  of  a  constitu- 
tional Sovereign,  and  not  the  serfs  of  a  Muscovite, 
or  the  counterpart  of  a  European  mob !  Strive  to 
strike  corruption  at  its  roots ;  to  encourage  a  system 
calculated  to  promote  peace  and  happiness ;  to  secure 
as  our  inheritance  the  tranquil  advantages  of  civil  and 
religious  freedom,  general  content,  and  easy  independ- 
ence. Such  a  connection  as  this  with  our  parent  state 
would  prove  long  and  mutually  beneficial ;  but  if  the 
officials  go  much  further  they  will  drive  the  people 
mad." 

To  a  certain  extent,  the  majority  of  the  Assembly 
had,  by  the  injustice  of  which  they  had  been  guilty, 
gained  their  point.  They  had  goaded  their  victim 
into  the  use  of  expressions  which  in  his  cooler  rao- 


THE    CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


241 


merits  he  had  never  used.  It  must  not  be  overlooked, 
however,  that  whatever  there  was  of  menace  in  his 
impassioned  language,  it  was  directed  against  the  Pro- 
vincial oligarchy.  A  marked  distinction  was  made 
between  them  and  the  "  noble  King,"  whose  *'  soldiers 
of  freedom"  were  the  "champions  of  British  lib- 
erty." If  he  was  indiscreet,  we  must  not  forget  the 
galling  provocation  to  which  he  had  been  subjected : 
in  being  not  only  expelled  the  Legislature  for  libels 
that  others  might  print  with  impunity ;  but,  with  a 
view  of  preventing  his  re-election,  the  organs  of  the 
official  party  had  represented  that  he  was  loaded  with 
a  disabil'ty  unknown  to  the  law,  the  creation  of  the 
arbitrary  will  of  the  House  of  Assembly.  We  shall 
see,  as  we  proceed,  that  some  members  of  the  Family 
Compact  shortly  afterwards  threatened  to  throw  off 
their  allegiance  upon  infinitely  less  provocation. 

The  election  of  a  member,  to  represent  the  county 
of  York,  in  the  place  of  the  expelled  represen- 
tative, commenced  on  the  30th  January;  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie being  proposed,  for  the  fourth  time,  by  Mr. 
Joseph  Shepherd.  Two  other  candidates,  besides  Mr. 
Mackenzie — Mr.  James  E.  Small,  and  Mr.  Simon 
Washburn — presented  themselves.  Mr.  Small  stated 
from  the  hustings  that  "  he  did  not  come  before  the 
freeholders  as  approving  of  the  conduct  of  the  As- 
sembly, in  their  repeated  expulsions  of  Mr.  Macken- 
zie; he  considered  their  proceedings,  in  these  cases, 
arbitrary  and  unconstitutional.  But  as  they  had  de- 
clared Mr.  Mackenzie  disqualified,  he  had  come  for- 
ward, presuming  that  the  electors  would  see  the  ex- 
pediency of  not  electing  a  member  who  could  not  take 


;.  !-' 


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31 


I 


m 


242 


LIFE    OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


his  seat.  He  opposed  Mr.  Washburn,  not  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie, who  he  was  satisfied,  would  have  a  majority 
of  votes."  Mr.  Washburn,  on  the  contrary,  expressed 
his  approval  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Assembly,  in 
the  expulsion  of  Mr.  Mackenzie,  of  whom  he  spoke  in 
terms  of  harshness,  similar  to  those  used  by  the  more 
violent  of  the  majority  of  the  House.  Mr.  Washburn 
retired,  on  the  second  day  of  polling,  much  disgusted 
at  having  received  only  twenty-three  votes.  Mr. 
Mackenzie  received  six  hundred  and  twenty-eight 
votes,  and  Mr.  Small  ninety-six. 

Such  a  result  might  have  been  expected  to  convince 
the  Assembly  of  the  folly  of  their  proceedings ;  but  the 
truth  is,  the  majority  was  entirely  inaccessible  to  reason. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Legislative  session  had  been 
closed.  Before  the  prorogation,  Mr.  Peter  Perry 
moved  to  address  the  Lieutenant  Grovernor  to  dissolve 
the  House,  in  consequence  of  the  excitement  created 
in  the  country  by  the  two  expulsions  of  Mr.  Mackenzie; 
for  which  motion  he  obtained  eighteen  votes  against 
twenty-seven.  The  House,  as  if  proud  of  its  achieve- 
ments, ordered  two  thousand  copies  of  the  proceedings 
on  the  privilege  question  to  be  printed. 

In  the  absence  of  Mr.  Mackenzie  from  the  Assem- 
bly, the  Bank  of  Upper  Canada  had  been  authorized 
to  increase  its  stock  to  a  very  large  extent,  in  spite  of 
the  refusal  of  its  managers,  on  a  previous  occasion,  to 
give  to  a  committee  of  the  House  ir''>rmation  on 
points  of  the  first  importance.  The  Bank  iS  unpopu- 
lar from  the  circumstance  of  the  gove  .inient  hold- 
ing stock  in  it,  and  appointing  represen  atives  of  that 
stock  at  the  Board  of  Direction.    A  la^  je  amount  of 


THE  CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


243 


stock  was  held  by  members  of  the  Legislative  Council ; 
who,  in  enlarging  the  powers  conferred  by  the  char- 
ter, were  legislating  for  their  own  individual  interests. 
Under  the  rules  to  which  the  Assembly  is  now  obliged 
to  conform,  members  similarly  situated  would  not  be 
permitted  to  vote  at  all  on  the  question.  No  other 
member  of  the  House  understood  so  well  as  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie the  checks  necessary  to  impose  on  banking  cor- 
porations, for  the  security  of  the  public ;  and  his  ex- 
pulsion caused  the  suspicion  to  be  expressed  that  the 
interested  members  of  the  House  were  not  uninflu- 
enced by  the  consideration  that,  in  his  absence,  any 
bank  scheme  they  might  bring  forward  would  be  sure 
to  succeed.*  The  bill  was,  however^  vetoed  in  England, 
at  the  instance  of  Mr.  Mackenzie,  as  based  on  unsound 
principles. 

Frazer,  a  man  of  coarse  manners  and  violent  lan- 
guage, publicly  threatened  to  horsewhip  Mr.  Macken- 
zie from  his  place  in  the  Assembly  during  the  mock 
trial;  and  it  is  said  that  within  twenty-four  hours 
he  received  from  Sir  John  Colborne  a  promise  of  the 
collectorship  of  Brockville.  The  promise  was  faith- 
fully fulfilled. 

«  It  is  proper  to  say  that  very  few  shares  were  held  by  members  of  the 
House.  Mr.  H.  J.  Boulton  was  interested  as  Solicitor  to  the  Bank,  and  doubt- 
less many  other  members  expected  favors  from  it.  A  Bank  of  TJ.  C.  return 
for  1831  showed  that  only  fifty-seven  shares  were  held  by  members  of  the 
House.  1,629  shares  were  held  by  members  of  the  Legislative  Council,  and 
1,402  by  oflScers  of  the  government;  the  government  itself  holding,  on  be- 
half of  the  Province,  2,000  shares.  Other  Provincial  Banks  were,  at  that 
time,  conducted  upon  anything  but  correct  principles.  The  whole  capi- 
tal stock  of  the  Bank  of  Montreal,  on  the  15th  November,  1830,  was  £250,000 ; 
and  at  the  same  time  the  Directors  had  borrowed  from  the  bank  £120,473,  and 
were  endorsers  for  others  for  £60,570  more!  In  short  they  bad  borrowed 
nearly  three-fourths  of  the  whole  capital  of  the  bank. 


■it'- 


244 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


.1 


.    ^     ,;    r,. 


;i(:'  : 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Popular  Excitement  and  Sympathy  for  Mackenzie — Grievance  Petitions- 
Attempt  to  Assassinate  Mackenzie — Trial  and  Conviction  of  Kerr  for  the 
Outrage — Mackenzie  Denounced  by  a  Catholic  Bishop — Disturbances  in 
York,  and  another  Assassination  Plot — Journey  to  England — Witnesses  the 
final  reading  of  the  Reform  Bill — His  Impressions  of  Earl  Grey,  O'Connell, 
Rov.  Mr.  Irving,  and  Cobbett — Hume  forwards  his  Objects — Interview  with 
Lord  Goderich,  Colonial  Minister — Refuses  the  Postmaster  Generalship  of 
Upper  Canada — Lord  Goderich's  Dispatch  and  Concessions — The  Legisla- 
tive Council  and  Assembly  on  the  Dispatch — Mackenzie  procures  the  Dis- 
missal of  the  Crown  Officers  in  Upper  Canada — The  Tories  threaten  to 
revolt — Hngerman  restored  to  the  Solicitor  Generalship,  and  Boulton 
appointed  Chief  Justice  of  Newfoundland — Post-office  Policy  and  Revela- 
tions— Disallowance  of  Bank  Charters — Other  Colonial  Agents — Macicen- 
zie's  "  Sketches  of  Canada  and  the  United  States" — Revisits  Scotland— Re- 
turns to  Canada — Declines  public  Dinners. 

SiK  Walter  Scott  has  stated  somewhere  that  man- 
kind feel  more  interest  in  the  fortunes  of  two  lovers 
than  in  the  fate  of  a  nation.  An  interest  scarcely  in- 
ferior attaches  to  the  career  of  an  individual  whom  the 
public  regards  as  the  victim  of  injustice,  whose  crime 
consists  of  his  having  defended  a  popular  right  or 
contended  for  a  principle.  The  majority  of  the  As- 
sembly, in  attempting  to  crush  an  opponent,  had  made 
a  martyr.  The  natural  result  followed.  The  expelled 
member  had  crowds  of  sympathizers,  in  all  parts  of 
the  Province.  Public  meetings  were  held  to  denounce 
this  arbitrary  stretch  of  privilege.    Petitions  to  the 


THE  CANADIAN    REBELLION. 


246 


King  and  the  Imperial  Parliament  for  a  redress  of 
grievances,  of  which  the  expulsion  of  Mr.  Mackenzie 
was  one,  were  numerously  signed.  Of  these  petitions, 
it  was  already  known,  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  to  be  the 
bearer  to  the  Colonial  office  ;  where  he  would  person- 
ally advocate  the  reforms  for  which  they  prayed. 

A  counter  movement  was  set  on  foot  by  the  official 
party.  With  the  Reform  ministry,  in  England,  this 
party  was  not  very  sure  of  its  standing.  The  peiitions 
that  had  already  been  sent  to  the  Colonial  office,  from 
Upper  Can;* "  complaining  of  grievance  and  praying 
that  they  might  be  redressed,  had  produced  an  im- 
pression adverse  to  the  official  party  in  the  Province. 
What  might  be  the  result  of  Mr.  Mackenzie's  visit, 
armed  with  numerous  petitions,  unless  some  antidote 
were  applied,  it  would  be  impossible  to  tell.  The 
prospect  which  this  state  of  things  held  out  enraged 
the  official  faction  ;  and  in  more  than  one  instance  they 
resorted  to  violence,  from  which  Mr.  Mackenzie  only 
escaped,  by  something  little  short  of  a  miracle,  with 
his  life. 

On  the  19th  of  March,  1832,  one  of  the  meetings 
called  by  the  government  party  was  held  at  Hamilton. 
Mr.  Mackenzie  attended  by  special  invitation.  The 
meeting  was  a  public  one ;  and  the  opposition  had  de- 
termined to  measure  numbers  with  their  opponents. 
Mr.  Wm.  B.  Sheldon,  of  Barton,  was  proposed  to  be 
voted  into  the  chair ;  and  the  Tories,  fearing  a  defeat, 
assumed  a  tone  of  menace.  Wm.  J.  Kerr,  showing 
a  more  violent  disposition  than  the  rest,  swore  that 
no  one  but  the  Sheriff'  should  preside.  As  too  often 
happens  where  two  political  parties  attempt  to  out- 


3,    ! 


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246 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


number  one  another,  at  a  public  meeting,  great  con. 
fusion  occurred.  On  a  show  of  hands  both  parties 
cUiimed  the  victory ;  but  the  Sheriff  took  the  chair. 
The  other  party — represented  by  a  local  paper  aa 
being  much  the  more  numerous — retired  to  the  Court 
House  Green;  where  an  address  to  the  King  was 
adopted. 

After  the  meeting,  Mr.  Mackenzie  had  retired  to 
the  house  of  a  friend,  Mr.  Matthew  Bailey,  where  he 
dined,  a  few  other  friends  being  present.  A  rumor 
had  been  circulated,  in  whispers,  that  a  plan  had  been 
formed,  during  the  day,  to  take  Mr.  Mackenzie's  life, 
or  at  least  to  do  him  such  bodily  injury  as  would 
render  it  impossible  for  him  to  make  his  contemplated 
journey  to  England.  Several  of  his  friends  apprised 
him  of  this,  and  urged  him  strongly  to  leave  town 
before  dark.  Mr.  Davis  three  several  times  attempted 
to  persuade  him  to  go  in  his  carriage  to  Wellington 
Square.  He  declined  all  this  advice,  and  all  offers 
of  conveyance  that  would  take  him  out  of  town  before 
dark ;  saying  that  he  should  prefer  to  start  by  the 
stage  at  eleven  o'clock.  About  nine  o'clock  that  night, 
when  he  was  sitting  in  a  parlor  up  stairs,  with  a 
friend,  writing,  the  door  was  suddenly  opened  with- 
out any  premonition,  and  in  stepped  Kerr  and  one 
George  Petit.  When  asked  to  take  seats,  one  cf  them, 
Kerr,  at  first  refused,  but  almost  immediately  after  sat 
down.  He  almost  instantly  rose  again,  and  walking 
up  to  the  table  and  turning  over  the  sheets  Mr. 
Mackenzie  had  been  writing,  remarked  with  much 
apparent  grod  humor:  ''Well,  Mr.  Mackenzie,  have 
you  got  all  our  grievances  redressed  at  last  ?"    Some- 


THE  CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


247 


thing  more  \va3  said,  when  Kerr,  asking  Mr.  Macken- 
zie to  speak  with  him  in  private,  was  at  once  lighted 
down  stairs  by  the  unsuspecting  victim,  by  whom  he 
was  followed.  Kerr  opened  the  street  door;  and, 
while  standing  on  the  steps  in  front,  introduced  Mr. 
Mnckenzie  to  two  or  three  accomplices,*  remarking, 
"This  is  your  man,"  or  "This  is  our  man."  All  at 
once,  one  of  them  seized  him  by  one  side  of  the  coat 
collar,  while  Kerr  seized  the  other.  The  candle  was 
(lashed  to  the  ground,  and  they  attempted  to  drag 
their  victim,  in  the  dark,  into  an  open  space  in  front 
of  the  house.  Mr.  Mackenzie,  on  whose  mind  the 
terrible  truth  now  flashed — the  warnings  he  had  re- 
ceived that  a  plan  had  been  made  to  murder  him,  and 
a  threat  made  by  Kerr  some  months  before  to  take  his 
life,  instantly  coming  to  his  recollection — grasped  the 
door,  and  struggling  in  the  hands  of  the  assassins, 
shrieked,  "  Murder."  One  of  the  party  now  struck  him 
a  terrible  blow  with  a  bludgeon,  felling  him  down 
upon  the  stone  steps,  whence  he  was  dragged  into  the 
square  in  front  of  the  house ;  where  he  received  re- 
peated kicks  and  blows,  and  his  life  was  only  saved 
^v  the  opportune  arrival  of  some  neighbors,  with  Mr. 
ilailey's  brother ;  one  of  whom,  named  Peck,  an  Irish 
laborer,  caused  Kerr  to  desist  by  approaching  him 
with  an  uplifted  billet  of  wood.  The  villains  took 
to  their  heels,  except  Kerr  who  was  upon  the  ground ; 

*  It  was  stated  in  a  local  paper,  at  the  time,  the  editor  of  which  was  present 
with  Mr.  Mackenzie,  in  the  House,  that  two  of  these  were  James  Dennis  and 
Olivor  Richie ;  and  the  statement  was  afterwards  repeated  in  a  work  published 
by  Mr.  Mackenzie,  in  London.  There  is,  however,  no  judicial  evidence  of 
the  identity  of  Kerr's  accomplices ;  as  he  was  the  only  one  brought  to  trial  for 
the  outrage. 


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248 


LIFE    OF    MACKENZFE,    AND 


and  when  he  rose,  he  re.sorted  to  tliie  stratagoin  of 
assuming  not  only  the  innocent  man  but  the  pro- 
tector, saying,  "  Don't  bo  afraid,  Mr.  Mackenzie ;  you 
shan't  be  hurt,  you  shan't  be  hurt."  lie  then  scauin- 
ered  off  as  well  as  he  could — for  he  was  permanently 
lame — after  his  accomplices ;  and  next  morning  he 
was  heard  boasting  at  the  Burlington  canal — a  govern- 
ment work  of  ^^  hich  he  was  manager — that  he  had 
saved  Mackenzie's  life  from  the  attempt  of  a  band  of 
ruffians !  The  victim  was  found  to  bo  bleeding  pro- 
fusely, disfigured  in  the  face,  injured  in  the  head,  and 
hurt  in  the  chest.  "  I  was  very  unwell  all  next  day," 
he  said,  "  but  able  to  sit  up.  I  was  a  ghastly  spectacle 
to  look  upon ;  and  for  months  after  I  felt  the  effects 
of  the  blows  and  bruises." 

Mrs.  Bailey  was  so  alarmed  at  the  outrage  enacted 
in  front  of  her  husband's  house,  that  she  was  seized 
with  convulsions,  and  was  in  such  an  alarming  condi- 
tion, during  the  greater  part  of  the  night,  that  it  was 
at  one  time  feared  she  would  lose  her  life  or  her  rea- 
son.    She  gradually  recovered  towards  morning. 

It  has  been  stated  that  Kerr  and  his  friends  met 
next  day,  vowing  to  complete,  at  night,  the  work  they 
had  begun  ;  but,  however  this  might  be,  Mr.  Bailey's 
house  was  too  well  guarded  to  render  such  an  attempt 
at  all  prudent,  and  it  was  not  made. 

Kerr  was  a  magistrate,  and  had  charge  of  a  public 
work.  He  was  a  man  who  might  safely  be  looked  to 
to  take  his  share  of  rough  work,  without  any  disap- 
pointment of  expectations,  as  this  outrage  is  sufficient 
guarantee.  He  was  brought  to  trial,  for  the  part  he 
played  in  it,  in  August,  1832,  at  the  Gore  District  As- 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


249 


sizes;  some  person,  unknown  to  Mr.  Mackenzie,  having 
laid  the  information.  Mr.  Macaiilay  was  the  presiding 
judge ;  and,  considering  the  relations  of  all  the  par- 
tics,  it  is  proper  to  say  that  he  showed  the  greatest 
impartiality  on  the  trial,  though  there  might  be  a  ques- 
tion about  the  adequacy  of  the  punishment  awarded. 
A  tine  of  ^100  is  hardly  felt  by  a  man  said  to  be  worth 
£o,0()0  or  £6,000.  And  the  assault  was  of  that  ag- 
gravated nature  which  irresistibly  carries  with  it  the 
ielea  of  serious  premeditated  injury,  if  not  something 
more.  The  first  blow  would  probably  have  proved 
fatal,  had  not  the  bludgeon  come  in  contact  with  the 
lintel  of  the  door.  Solicitor  General  Hagerman  ap- 
peared as  prosecutor  on  the  part  of  the  Crown. 

The  name  of  Mr.  McNab,  as  probable  adviser  of  the 
outrage,  has  been  freely  used,  both  at  the  time  and 
since ;  but  as  there  is  no  evidence,  beyond  the  fact  that 
some  of  his  friends  were  engaged  in  it,  he  must  be 
acquitted.  As  the  facts  clearly  show  a  conspiracy, 
it  is  strange  that  Kerr  was  the  only  one  convicted. 
On  what  ground  Petit  could  have  been  allowed  to  go 
scot-free,  it  is  difficult  to  imagine ;  but  he  was  admitted 
as  a  witness  on  the  part  of  the  defence,  and  he  was 
permitted  to  evade  answering  the  question  whether 
he  knew  anything  about  a  premeditated  attack,  b^J" 
saying  he  himself  had  not  gone  to  Bailey's  to  assault 
Mr.  ^lackenzie.  His  numerous  evasions  of  tie  ques- 
tion, put  in  various  shapes,  could  only  lead  to  one  con- 
clusion, and  that  conclusion  pointed  to  a  conspiracy 
which  no  attempt  was  made  to  unravel. 

The  example  of  Hamilton  was  to  be  followed  in 
York.     Parties  were  pretty  equally  balanced  at  the 


32 


'  ■' 


1   1. 


; 


mi 


250 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


capital ;  and  the  official  magnates  were  not  always  in- 
clined to  make  a  display  of  their  tolerance  at  public 
meetings.  On  the  6th  of  July,  1830,  they  had  refused 
to  allow  Mr.  Mackenzie  to  be  heard,  at  a  public  meet- 
ing called  to  organize  an  Agricultural  Society,  and 
now  they  were  emboldened  by  the  measurable  suc- 
cess of  the  Hamilton  venture.  The  meeting  having 
been  called  for  the  23d  of  March,  the  semi-official 
organ*  of  the  Government  undertook  to  "  caution  the 
faction  against  any  attempt  at  deception,"  at  the  meet- 
ing, and  threatening  that,  if  the  caution  were  not 
heeded,  "we  most  assuredly  would  not  ensure  the 
leading  revolutionary  toolsf  a  whole  skin,  or  a  whole 
bone  in  their  skins,  for  the  space  of  fifteen  minutes." 
A  sufficiently  audacious  threat !  At  the  present  time 
we  look  back  with  astonishment  at  the  insolent  tone 
of  the  semi-official  journals  of  those  days ;  but  when 
we  scan  the  conduct,  and  read  the  language  of  Soli- 
citor ''  eneral  Hagerman,  in  the  Assembly,  we  cannot 
doubt  that  they  faithfully  reflected  the  feelings  of  the 
official  party.  No  special  constables  were  sworn  in, 
or  any  other  precautions  taken  to  preserve  the  peace. 
The  meeting  having  assembled  at  the  Court  House, 
Dr.  Dunlop,  of  the  Canada  Company,  and  Mr.  Ketchum, 
member  for  York  county,  were  respectively  proposed 

•  The  Upper  Canada  Courier. 

f  Tho  same  paper,  after  the  meeting,  spoke  of  the  farmers  of  Yongo  street 
as  a  herd  of  swine:  "Every  wheel  of  their  well  organized  political  machine 
was  sot  in  motion  to  transmute  country  farmers  into  citizens  of  York.  Ac- 
cordingly, ahout  nine  in  the  morning,  groups  of  tall,  broad-shouldered,  hulk- 
ing fellows  were  seen  arriving  from  Whitby,  Pickering,  and  Scarborough, 
some  crowded  in  wagons,  and  others  on  horseback ;  and  Hogg,  tho  miller, 
headed  a  herd  of  the  swine  of  Yonge  street,  who  made  just  as  good  votes  at 
the  meeting  as  the  best  siiop-kcepers  in  York." 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


251 


as  chairman.  As  is  usual,  in  such  cases,  both  parties 
claimed" the  victory;  but  Dr.  Dunlop  took  the  chair, 
when  the  Reformers  withdrew  and  organized  an  open 
air  meeting,  in  front  of  the  Court  House,  making  use 
of  a  farmer's  wagon  for  a  platform.  Mr.  Ketchum 
being  made  chairman,  Mr.  Mackenzie,  suifering  con- 
siderably from  the  injuries  he  had  received  at  Hamil- 
ton,  began  to  address  the  meeting;  stones  and  other 
missiles  were  thrown  by  the  opposite  party  ;  close  con- 
nections of  some  of  the  officials  being  engaged  in  the 
work.  The  riot  soon  assumed  a  serious  aspect.  A 
ruffian  in  the  crowd  drew  a  knife,  with  which  he 
threatened  the  speaker.  The  wagon  in  which  Mr. 
Ketchum  and  the  speaker  were  standing  was 'seized 
and  drawn  for  some  distance,  amidst  threats  and  im- 
precations. The  Sheriff  told  Mr.  Ketchum  he  was  un- 
able to  preserve  the  peace,  and  begged  him  to  bring 
the  meeting  to  a  close.  Some  one  hit  upon  the  expe- 
dient of  advising  the  "  friends  of  the  Governor"  to 
go  up  to  Government  House  and  cheer  His  Excellency. 
This  being  dono,  peace  was  restored,  a  new  chairman 
appointed,  and  an  address  to  the  King  resolved  upon. 
After  Mr.  Mackenzie  had  addressed  the  meeting  for 
about  twenty  minutes,  those  who  had  not  signed  the  ad- 
dress went  to  his  residence,  at  the  corner  of  Church  and 
Richmond  streets,  where,  upon  tables  in  the  street, 
four  hundred  and  thirty-eight  names  were  added. 
While  on  his  way,  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  seized  hold  of  by 
Captain  Fitzgibbon.  On  being  questioned  as  to  his  in- 
tentions, Captain  Fitzgibbon  said  he  was  going  to  take 
him  to  jail,  to  secure  his  protection  from  the  mob.  Mr. 
Mackenzie's  friends,  to  whom  his  answer  w\is  given,  re- 


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252 


LIFE   OF    MACKENZIE,   AND 


plied  that  there  was  no  necessity  for  this,  as  they  would 
undertake  to  guarantee  his  safety;  upon  which  Mr. 
Mackenzie  went  to  his  own  residence.    The  disorderly- 
mob,  who  had  been  to  cheer  the  Governor,  returned, 
bearing  an  effigy  of  Mackenzie,  which  they  burnt,  and 
then  made  an  attack  upon  the  office  of  The  Colonial 
Advocate.     They  broke  the   windows  and  destroyed 
some  of  the  type,  and  were  only  prevented  from  doing 
further  mischief  by  the  exertions  of  a  few  individuals, 
among  whom  was  an  apprentice  in  the  printing  oflBce, 
named  Fails,  who  fired  a  gun  loaded  with  type,*  over- 
awing the  rioters.   Captain  Fitzgibbon  did  everything 
in  his  power  to  restore  peace;    and   the  Lieutenant 
Grovernor  gave  orders  for  seventy-five  soldiers  to  be 
ready  at  a  moment's  notice,  if  required.   Three  or  four 
magistrates  remained  at  the  police  office  all  night, 
swearing  in  special  constables  ;  and  a  guard  of  citizens 
volunteered  to   protect   Mr.   Mackenzie's   house  and 
printing  office.     At  midnight  a  mob  surrounded  the 
office,  when  Captain  Fitzgerald  ordered  them  to  dis- 
perse, and  threatened,  if  they  did  not  obey,  to  call  out 
the  troops,  which  were  kept   under  arms  all  night. 
This  admonition  had  the  desired  effect,  and  the  crowd, 
headed  by  a  son  of  one  of  the  Executive  Councillors, 
moved  off  without  venturing  to  execute  the  violence 
they  had  meditated.     The  house  had  to  be  guarded  for 
three  weeks,  during  which  time  Mr.  Mackenzie  re- 
mained in  the  country  for  safety  ;  and  the  young  man, 
who  fired  on  the  rioters,  had  to  leave  the  city  in  con- 
sequence of  his  life  being  threatened. 
A  novel  division  of  parties  took  place  at  this  meet- 

*  Christian  Guardian. 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


253 


ing;  the  Roman  Catholics  going  with  the  Family  Com- 
pact. Mr.  Mackenzie,  who  at  all  times  made  it  a  point 
of  respecting  every  man's  honest  religious  convictions, 
and  quarreling  with  none  on  account  of  their  particu- 
lar views,  had  somehow  managed  to  get  at  loggerheads 
with  Bishop  McDonnell.  It  was  stated  on  clerical 
evidence  that  the  latter  had  denounced  him  from  the 
altar.*  The  bishop  received  an  annuity  of  some  £500 
sterling,  and  the  Church  something  more,  from  the  go- 
vernment; and  these  grants  were  objected  to  as  invi- 
dious and  unjust  to  other  denominations.  From  one 
party  came  the  emolument;  from  the  other  the  objec- 
tions; a  condition  of  things  that  might  well  be  sup- 
posed to  influence  the  political  preference  even  of  a 
bishop,  not  otherwise  burthened  with  wealth.  But, 
however  it  may  be  explained,  the  Roman  Catholics 
were,  contrary  to  their  usual  habit,  found  in  alliance 
with  the  Family  Compact,  on  this  occasion.    At  the 


•  Dr.  O'Grady,  a  Roman  Catholic  Priest,  in  his  evidence  before  the 
Grievance  Committee,  in  1836,  stated  that  Bishop  McDonnell  ♦'  got  up  a  petitioa 
against  Mr.  Mackenzie,  attended  a  public  meeting  in  Mrs.  Jordan's  inn,  and 
liarrnngiied  the  people ;  and  by  the  use  of  the  most  inexcusable  misrepresenta- 
tions, obtained  signatures  to  the  said  petition,  inducing  the  signers  to  believe, 
from  altars  dedicated  to  the  service  of  religion,  that  the  document  to  which 
lift  invited  them  to  affix  their  names  was  intended  solely  for  the  advancement 
of  the  Catholic  Church.  Shortly  after  heleft  here  (York)  for  Penetanguishine, 
accompanied  by  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Gordon  and  Crevier ;  and  Mr.  Gordon  told  me 
that  he  stopped  on  his  way  to  perform  divine  service  in  the  Catholic  Church  of 
thft  township  of  Toronto,  and  that  he  did,  on  that  solemn  occasion,  instend  of 
preaching  the  morality  of  the  gospel,  inveigh  in  the  most  violent  and  unbe- 
coming manner  against  William  Lyon  Mackenzie.  Ho  went  from  that  [place] 
to  Adjula,  where  he  parted  from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gordon,  having  given  him 
prftvioas  instructions  to  obtain  signatures  in  the  best  manner  he  could  to  a 
blank  paper,  which  he  left  with  him  for  that  purpose.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Gordon 
told  me  that  he  was  shocked  and  scandalized  at  the  manner  in  which  this  po- 
litical crusade  was  conducted." 


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254 


LIFE  OF  MACKENZIE,   AND 


same  time  there  appears  to  have  been  a  good  deal  of 
political  division  among  them;  a  meeting  having 
immediately  after  been  held  in  York,  at  which  no 
decision  was  come  to  on  the  relative  merits  of  the  two 
political  parties. 

In  April,  1832,  Mr.  Mackenzie  started  on  his  jour- 
ney to  England,  as  the  bearer  to  the  Imperial  Govern- 
ment of  petitions,  which  had,  for  the  most  part,  been 
born  of  the  excitement  arising  out  of  his  expulsion 
from  the  Legislative  Assembly.  He  expected  to 
return  in  six  months;  but  was  delayed  nearly  a  year 
and  a  half.  During  his  absence,  Mr.  Randal  Wixon 
took  charge  of  The  Colonial  Advocate.  The  packet 
Ontario,*  on  which  Mr.  Mackenzie  sailed,  with  his 

♦  The  following  song,  wishing  God-speed  to  the  agent,  is  one  of  several  of 
the  same  kind,  published  about  this  time.  It  was  dated  Markham,  April  10, 
1832,  and  signed  Dioqenes  : 

Now  Willie's  awa'  frae  the  field  o'  contention, 

Frae'  the  Land  o'  misrule,  and  the  friends  o'  dissension ; 

He's  gane  owre  the  waves,  as  an  agent  befittin'; 

Our  claims  to  support,  in  the  councils  o'  Britain. 

Nae  mair  shall  the  Soup-kitchen  beggars*  annoy  him, 
Nor  the  Hamilton  murd'rers  attempt  to  destroy  him  ; 
Nae  dark  deed  o'  bluid  shall  he  dread  their  committin'; 
He's  safe  frae  their  fangs,  on  his  voyage  to  Britain. 

Blaw  saftly  ye  breezes !  nae  turbulent  motion 
Disturb,  wi'  rude  billow,  the  breast  o'  the  ocean; 
But  zephyrs  propitious,  wi'  breath  unremittin', 
May  waft  him  wi'  speed,  and  wi'  safety  to  Britain. 

There,  there,  the  Rkformebs  shall  cordially  meet  him. 
An'  there  his  great  namesake.  Kino  Willie,  shall  greet  him; 
Our  Patriot  Monarch,  whase  name  shall  ^^  -..i  it  ten, 
Wi'  letters  o'  gowd  in  the  Records  o'  Britain. 

*  This  roferg  to  gome  of  the  perRODB  engaged  la  the  York  riot,  on  the  23d  of  March. 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


255 


wife,  had  on  board  sixteen  cabin  and  six  steerage  pas- 
sengers. He  described  her  as  "a  sort  of  Noah's  ark," 
having  on  board  pigs,  poultry,  turkeys,  geese,  and  a 
milch  cow."  The  passage  from  New  York  to  Ports- 
mouth was  made  in  twenty- nine  days,  commencing 
on  the  first  of  May.  Writing  to  Toronto,  after  he  had 
o-ot  on  board  at  New  York,  he  said:  "I  trust  that  the 
good  providence  of  that  merciful  Power  who  has  pro- 
tected and  watched  over  your  humble  correspondent 
until  now,  will  continue  to  preserve  him,  direct  all  his 
steps,  and  promote  the  object  of  his  mission,  in  as  far 
as  that  object  would  be  for  the  good  of  Canada  and  of 
the  English  people." 

The  number  of  letters  he  wrote  on  board  the  vessel 
attests  that  constitutional  activity  which  always  pre- 
vented his  remaining  idle ;  an  activity  which  sometimes 
took  strange  freaks,  and  of  which  an  example  may  be 
given  in  his  going  up  to  the  mast-head,  the  first  night 

Gae,  Canada's  Patriot,  gae,  Strang  In  your  mission, 
Gae  bear  to  our  Sov'reign,  his  subjects'  Petition ; 
Our  Despots  unmask — shaw  the  deeds  they're  committin', 
Pervertin'  the  blest  Institutions  o'  Britain. 

An'  dread  na  the  Tories — they're  toss'd  frae  their  station, 
Thae  tools  that  degraded  and  plundered  the  nation, 
The  Bigots — the  mitred,  the  titled  are  smitten 
To  earth — and  the  Whigs  are  triumphant  in  Britain. 

Tho'  here,  we've  a  brood  o'  the  Reptiles  remainin', 

Like  Vampyres,  the  vitals  o'  Canada  drainin'; 

Yet  lax  is  their  tenure,  unstable  their  fittin'. 

An'  they'll  soon  be  extinct  like  the  Vermin  o'  Britain. 

Gae,  Champion  o'  Freedom !  fulfil  your  great  mission ; 

The  cause  you're  engaged  in  defies  opposition  ; 

An'  Liberty's  laurels,  new  glories  omittin'. 

Shall  garland  your  brows  when  returnin'  frae  Britain. 


i.'i 


*i 


t-'i 


I      I 

S 
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i 


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I,, 


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't 


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i^r 


8V, 


256 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,    AND 


'« 


in  a  storm,  and  only  descending  just  before  one  of  the 
sails   was   blown  away.  ,i 

The  organs  of  the  official  party  affected  to  be  merry 
at  the  idea  of  a  man  who  had  twice  been  expelled  from 
the  Legislature,  and  declared  incapable  of  sitting 
during  that  Parliament,  taking  a  budget  of  grievances 
to  Downing  street,  and  expecting  to  obtain  a  hearing. 
But  they  had  reckoned  without  their  host,  as  the 
event  proved. 

He  arrived  in  London  in  time  to  witness  the  third 
reading  of  the  Reform  Bill  in  the  House  of  Lords : 

"Having  obtained  the  order  of  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Lords  for  admission  to  the  gallery  on  the 
eventful  night  of  the  third  reading  of  the  Reform  Bill, 
I  went  as  early  as  four  o'clock,  and  obtained  an  excel- 
lent seat  both  for  seeing  and  hearing  in  the  front  tier 
of  seats  immediately  opposite  the  throne.  It  was  well 
that  I  did  so.  Had  I  been  a  few  minutes  later,  the 
order  would  have  been  of  no  avail,  as  the  gallery  holds 
only  eighty  persons,  and  each  nobleman  being  enti- 
tled to  give  an  order  for  the  admission  of  one  person, 
it  was  filled  to  overflowing  almost  immediately.  At 
half  past  four  but  few  of  the  peers  had  arrived;  and 
perhaps  a  dozen  members  of  the  Commons'  House 
were  standing  at  the  bar.  They  have  either  to  stand 
or  sit  down  on  the  matting,  there  being  neither  chairs 
nor  benches  placed  for  their  accommodation." 

With  the  appearance  and  bearing  of  Earl  Grey  he 
was  in  raptures : — 

"  Well  does  Earl  Grrey  merit  the  high  station  and 
distinguished  rank  to  which  he  has  been  called ;  truth 
and  sincerity  are  stamped  on  his  open,  manly,  Eng- 


THE  CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


257 


lish  countenance;  intelligence  and  uprightness  in- 
scribed on  all  his  actions.  You  may  read  his  speech 
in  The  Times  or  Chronicle  ^  you  may  imagine  to  your- 
self the  noblest,  happiest  manner  in  which  such  senti- 
ments might  be  delivered  by  a  sincere  and  highly 
gifted  patriot ;  still  your  conception  will  fall  far  short 
of  the  reality  of  the  admirable  address  and  manner 
of  the  prime  minister  of  Britain.  His  Lordship  had 
need  of  neither  the  peerage  nor  the  post  he  fills  to 
point  him  out  as  one  of  the  first  among  men  ;  he  was — 
he  is  one  of  that  aristocracy  of  nature  which  in  any 
free  country  are  found  among  the  pillars  of  its  liber- 
ties, and  in  any  despotism  among  the  foremost  to 
hreak  the  tyrant's  yoke,  or  perish  in  attempting  it." 
There  was  every  thing  to  hope,  Mr.  Mackenzie  wrote, 
from  the  justice  of  Earl  Grey.  Upper  Canada  affairs, 
he  felt  assured,  would  "  be  put  to  rights."  He  was 
naturally  of  a  sanguine  disposition,  and  was  also  sub- 
ject to  severe  fits  of  despondency. 

His  impression  of  O'Connell  was  also  very  favor- 
able:— 

"  I  have  heard  Mr.  O'Connell,  the  great  Irish  agita- 
tor and  champion  of  emancipation,  address  a  meeting 
of  one  of  these  [Trades'  Political]  Unions,  not  less 
than  eight  hundred  or  one  thousand  members  being 
present.  He  has  the  most  perfect  self-command,  and 
an  inexhaustible  fund  of  genuine  wit  and  broad  humor ; 
is  one  of  those  speakers  you  can  listen  to  for  hours, 
and  yet  regret  when  you  cease  to  hear  the  sound  of 
his  voice.  There  is  a  quaintness  in  his  manner  of  ex- 
pression which  gives  double  effect  to  his  jokes  and 
witticisms.    Yet  he  can  be  lofty  and  majestic  when  he 


u 


tl; 


: 


\\i' 


'     ! 


f 


.    y. 


83 


]|     I; 


258 


LIFE   OP   MACKENZIE,  AND 


'1 
•IH 


'tfl 


pleases ;  and  I  rejoiced  to  perceive  that  his  original 
and  flowing  eloquence,  as  he  told  in  strong  and  em- 
phatic language  of  the  wrongs  of  Ireland,  drew  from 
an  English  audience  the  most  enthusiastic,  sympathetic 
cheers.  I  rarely  ever  witnessed  a  more  successful 
speaker,  in  his  popular  character  of  an  agitator,  than 
Mr.  O'Connell." 

After  he  had  been  introduced  to  Mr.  O'Connell,  he 
writes  under  date,  "  19  Wakefret  Street,  Brunswick 
Square,  London,  July  28,  1832. 

*'  Mr.  O'Connel  is  a  man  of  whom  all  Irishmen 
ought  to  be  proud.  In  their  cause,  in  Ireland's  cause, 
in  the  cause  of  civil  and  religious  freedom  all  over  the 
globe,  he  is  a  powerful  and  consistent  champion,  and 
likely  to  be  a  successful  one.  He  has  also  manifested 
the  warmest  attachment  to  the  Canadas ;  and  the  kind 
manner  in  which  he  spoke  to  me  of  our  affairs,  and  the 
interest  he  manifested  on  our  behalf,  entitles  him  to 
my  lasting  gratitude." 

Having  frequently  gone  to  hear  the  celebrated  Mr. 
Irving,  who  was  then  making  a  great  sensation  in 
London  as  a  preacher,  Mr.  Mackenzie  wrote : — 

"  Although  I  do  not  like  the  interruption  from  per- 
sons speaking,  as  if  inspired,  in  an  unknown  tongue, 
yet  there  is  something  so  noble,  so  honest,  so  captivat- 
ing about  this  eloquent  divine  that  I  always  leave  the 
church  more  firmly  determined  to  go  back  next  Sun- 
day, and  always  do  so.  There  is  such  a  power  and 
energy  in  his  discourses,  such  a  simplicity  in  his  man- 
ner, such  convincing  proofs  of  great  judgment  and 
sincere  good- will  towards  men  in  his  language  and 


THE   CANADIAN   llEBELLION. 


259 


actions,  that  I  cannot  but  feel  the  greatest  regard  for 
him  as  a  minister.  He  preaches  seventeen  times  a 
week,  in  doors  and  out,  and  his  audiences  frequently 
inchide  the  first  families  in  the  land." 

Canadian  affairs  were  accorded  attention  in  social 
circles,  where  Mr.  Mackenzie  moved.*  His  estimate 
of  Cobbett,  formed  from  a  personal  acquaintance,  does 
not  exclude  the  defects  of  that  remarkable  man.  In 
a  letter,  dated  "  September  20,  1832,"  he  writes : — 

"  I  am  not  sure  that  I  mentioned  to  you  that  I  dined 
on  Sunday,  last  July,  with  the  celebrated  Mr.  Cobbett, 
at  his  country-seat,  Kensington.     I  was  glad  to  accept 
an  invitation  which  enabled  me  to  see  a  man  who  has 
filled  a  large  space  in  the  public  annals  of  Britain  for 
the  last  forty  years,  at  home.     Mr.  Cobbett  is  the  cen- 
tre of  a  party,  formidable  in  numbers  and  not  defi- 
cient in  talent.     He  is  a  keen  and  unsparing  critic, 
reviewing  and  animadverting  upon  the  plans  of  other 
men  with  great  st    srity  and  unquestioned  skill.     He 
is  likely  to  succeed  in  being  returned  for  the  two  hun- 
dred thousand  inhabitants  of  Manchester  to  the  new 
Parliament,  which  will  give  him  great  weight.     His 
plans  then  will  be  exposed  to  the  test  of  Legislative 


t    :?■ 


•  In  his  letter  of  the  28th  July,  from  which  an  extract  has  already  been 
made,  he  says : — "  I  was  lately  an  invited  guest  at  a  dinner  given  in  the  White 
Conduit  House,  Pentonville,  to  the  memory  of  Major  Cartwright,  an  old  and 
constant  Reformer.  Many  distinguished  friends  of  reform  were  present ;  Mr. 
Hume  was  chairman,  supported  by  Sir  John  Scott  Lillie,  Deputy  Lieutenant 
of  Middlesex,  the  Editor  of  the  Westminster  Review,  Colonel  Evans,  Mr.  Bab- 
bage,  etc.  In  the  course  of  the  evening,  Mr.  Hume  gave  as  a  toast,  •  Reform 
in  the  Colonies,'  and-  spoke  at  some  length  on  the  state  of  the  Canadas.  Of 
course,  I  returned  thanks  in  a  short  speech.  A  Polish  Professor  from  Warsaw 
spoke  next,  and  gave  a  very  interesting  but  melancholy  account  of  the  present 
state  of  Poland." 


I 


h 


260 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


investigaticn,  and  we  shall  see  how  far  he  will  be  able 
to  carry  into  practice  his  theory  of  an  equitable  ad- 
justment of  the  national  grievances,  debts,  bonds,  and 
obligations.  Mr.  Cobbett  I  consider  a  happy  mftn. 
WHh  the  experience  of  threescore  he  possesses  the 
vivacity  of  eighteen.  He  is  pleased  with  himself, 
with  his  plans,  and  his  prospects.  Has  a  fine  family, 
a  comfortable  fireside,  and  enjoys  excellent  health. 
He  talks  as  much  of  trees,  and  flowers,  and  gardening, 
and  agriculture,  as  of  matters  of  government;  and 
has  evidently  made  farming  his  study  to  a  great  ex- 
tent. I  should  not  be  at  all  surprised  if  we  find  him 
not  so  great  a  democrat  in  the  House  of  Commons  as 
he  is  in  the  Weekly  Register.  Mr.  Cobbett  is  tall  and 
well  made,  ruddy  complexion  and  good-looking;  his 
hair  is  as  white  as  snow,  and  no  sign  of  baldness.  He 
is  evidently  a  man  of  an  ardent  temperament,  of  strong 
and  powerful  passions,  and  I  believe  his  object  is  to 
increase  the  comforts  and  lessen  the  misery  of  the 
great  body  of  the  people ;  but  it  is  evident  he  is  not 
very  scrupulous  as  to  the  means  of  bringing  about 
this  great  good.  Mr.  Noah,  of  New  York,  in  his  Ad- 
vocate, and  more  recently  in  his  Enquirer,  and  Mr. 
Cobbett,  of  Bolt  Court,  in  his  Register,  appear  to  me 
to  have  adopted  the  maxim  that '  all's  fair  in  polities'— 
they  both  put  forth,  in  a  powerful  strain  of  sarcasm 
or  invective  against  political  opponents,  statements  m ' 
always  so  correct  as  they  might  be.  Indeed,  Mr.  Cob- 
bett has  evidently  acted  towards  both  Whigs  and  To- 
ries for  many  years  as  though  be  considered  them  an 
organized  band  of  public  plunderers,  legalized  by  un- 
just statutes  to  oppress  mankind,  and  of  whom  no- 


THE    CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


261 


thing  could  bo  said  that  would  be  *  too  bad.'  Mr.  Cob- 
liett's  manner  is  kind  and  prepossessing,  but  I  think 
he  does  not  bear  contradiction  so  well  as  some  men 
of  less  genius  and  power  of  mind." 

Cobbett  noted  down  the  heads  of  an  article  which 
he  intended  to  write  on  Canada,  but  he  does  not  ap- 
pear to  have  carried  his  intention  into  effect. 

Mr.  Mackenzie  made  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Rin- 
toul,  editor  of  the  Sjtectator,  and  Mr.  Black,  editor  of 
the  Morning  Chronicle,  which  then  held  almost  as  im- 
portant a  position  as  The  Times ;  and  he  was  enabled 
to  address  to  the  British  public,  through  these  jour- 
nals, any  observations  he  had  to  make  on  the  subject 
of  Canada. 

Of  all  the  members  of  the  House  of  Commons,  Mr. 
Hume  rendered  the  greatest  assistance  to  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie. He  was  on  the  best  terms  of  friendship  with 
the  Ministry,  though  he  kept  his  seat  on  the  opposi- 
tion benches,  and  pursued  that  independent  course 
which  seemed  to  be  the  only  one  possible  to  him. 
When  he  laid  before  the  House  of  Commons  the  peti- 
tions of  which  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  bearer,  he  did  so 
not  only  with  the  knowledge  and  consent  of  the  go- 
vernment, but  "  he  was  happy  to  have  the  assurance  of 
Viscount  Goderich,  [Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies,] 
that  his  Lordship  was  busy  inquiring  into  the  griev- 
ances complained  of  with  a  view  of  aifording  relief." 
Mr.  Mackenzie  had,  by  this  time,  already  had  an  in- 
terview with  the  Colonial  minister,  and,  in  company 
with  Mr.  Hume,  Mr.  Viger — who  had  gone  to  England 
on  a  similar  mission,  on  behalf  of  Lower  Canada — and 
Mr.  George  Ryerson — who  had  gone  to  England  on 


* 


;'  ! 


it 


262 


LIFE   OF    MACKENZIE,  AND 


belialf  of  the  Methodist  Conference — he  was  to  have 
another  interview,  in  a  few  days.  .. 

This  first  interview,  at  which  all  the  four  gentlemen 
named  met  Lord  Goderich,  took  place  on  the  2nd  of 
July,  1832,  at  two  o'clock,  and  lasted  Ijetween  two  and 
three  hours.  The  attempts  made  to  lessen  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie's  influence,  in  the  shape  of  attacks  by  political 
opponents  in  Canada,  in  the  various  forms  they  had 
taken,  appeared  to  go  for  nothing  with  Viscount  Gode- 
rich. Mr.  Mackenzie  could  not  trace  the  effect  of  such 
influence.  "  The  conduct  of  the  Colonial  minister," 
he  found  to  be  "  friendly  and  conciliatory ;  his  lan- 
guage free  from  asperity ;  and  I  left  him,"  adds  Mr, 
Mackenzie,  "  with  the  impression  strongly  imprinted 
on  my  mind  ihat  he  sincerely  desired  our  happiness 
as  a  colony,  and  that  it  was  his  wish  to  act  an  impar- 
tial part."  The  agent  of  the  Upper  Canada  petition- 
ers explained  at  length  his  views  of  the  state  of  Upper 
Canada.  Viscount  Goderich  encouraged  the  deputation 
to  lay  the  petitions  before  the  House  of  Commons; 
and  he  appears  to  have  recognized,  from  the  first,  the 
substantial  nature  of  many  of  the  grievances  which 
were  subject  of  complaint.  If  the  ministry  had  shown 
a  disposition  to  treat  the  petitions  as  of  no  great  im- 
portance, Mr.  Hume  would  have  brought  the  whole 
subject  of  the  political  condition  of  Upper  Canada 
before  the  House  of  Commons ;  and  as  he  would  have 
been  warmly  seconded  by  O'Connell  and  others,  an 
effective  demonstration  would  have  been  made.  Al- 
though Mr.  George  Ryerson  was  present  at  this  in- 
terview, he  took  no  part  in  any  of  the  questions  dis- 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


263 


euascd  except  those  relating  to  rolif^ion  and  education, 
with  which  he  liad  been  specially  charged. 

On  the  3d  of  August,  Mr.  Mackenzie,  in  company 
with  Mr.  Hume  and  Mr.  Vigor,  had  a  second  inter- 
view with  Viscount  Goderich,  at  the  Colonial  oifice, 
commencing  at  two  o'clock  and  lasting  about  an  hour 
ami  a  half.  "  We  left  the  Colonial  office,"  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie wrote,  "  well  satisfied  that  measures  are  about 
to  be  tak'  Ti  that  will  go  a  great  way  towards  neutral- 
izing the  existing  discontents." 

These  interviews  were  not  obtained  through  the  in- 
tercession of  Mr.  Hume,  by  whom  the  agent  had  first 
been  introduced  to  members  of  the  ministry,  but  at 
the  request  of  Mr.  Mackenzie,  who  desired  that  the 
three  other  gentlemen  might  be  included  with  himself. 
He  afterwards  had  several  interviews  with  Lord  Gode- 
rich, at  which  no  third  person  was  present.  The  Co- 
lonial Minister  listened  to  Mr.  Mackenzie's  statements 
with  the  greatest  attention,  though  he  observed  a  de- 
corous reticence  as  to  his  own  views ;  and  even  when 
he  had  come  to  conclusions,  he  did  not  generally  an- 
nounce them  till  he  put  them  into  an  official  shape. 
In  one  of  those  interviews,  Mr.  Mackenzie  complained 
that  the  revenue  of  the  Post-office  Department,  in 
Upper  Canada,  was  not  accounted  for,  when  Lord 
Goderich  proposed  to  divide  the  management  of  the 
department  in  Canada,  and  give  Mr.  Mackenzie  con- 
trol of  the  western  section,  with  all  the  accruing 
emoluments.  Mr.  Mackenzie  replied  by  saying  : 
"So  far  as  I  am  concerned,  the  arrangement  would 
be  a  very  beneficial  one,  as  I  could  not  fail  to  be  per- 
sonally much  benefited  by  it ;  but  your  Lordship  must 


I'l 


I'l 


i'S 


264 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AXD 


see,"  he  added,  "  that  the  evil  I  complain  of  would  be 
perpetuated  instead  of  being  remedied,  i  must  there- 
fore  decline  the  offer."  Mr.  Mackenzie  estimated  the 
value  of  the  office,  undivided,  at  $15,000  a  year ;  one 
half  of  which  he  would  have  obtained  if  he  had  ac- 
cepted Lord  Goderich's  offer.  This  was  in  strict  ac- 
cordance with  the  whole  practice  of  his  life.  With 
every  opportunity  of  acquiring  competence,  and  even 
wealth,  he  lived  a  large  portion  of  his  life  in  poverty, 
and  died  under  the  pressure  of  pecuniary  embarrass- 
ment. 

Mr.  Mackenzie  was  not  received  at  the  Colonial  of- 
fice in  a  representative  character — he  was  delegated 
by  the  York  "  Central  Committee  of  the  Friends  of 
Civil  and  Religious  Liberty" — but  as  an  indi^'idual 
having  an  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  Province,  and 
a  member  of  the  Legislature  of  Upper  Canada.  It 
was  agreed  that  he  should  address  what  complaints  he 
had  to  make  to  the  Colonial  Secretary  in  writing  ;*  and 
he  addressed,  among  other  documents,  a  lengthy  "  Me- 


■• '!     ' 


iToj 


*  He  made  the  fullest  use  of  this  privilege ;  writing  long  documents  on  a 
great  number  of  subjects  in  which  Canadians  were  then  int<  rested.  It  was  in 
the  preparation  of  these  papers  that  he  performed  the  ex*  ;aordinary  feat  re- 
ferred to  in  a  previous  part  of  this  work,  of  continuing  to  w  "ite  six  diiys  and  six 
nights,  without  ever  going  to  bed,  and  only  falling  asleep  occasionally,  for  a  few 
minutes,  at  the  desk.  He  ventured  to  predict  that,  unless  the  system  of  gov- 
ernment,  in  Upper  Canada,  wore  ameliorated,  the  result  must  be  civil  war. 
"Against  gloomy  prophecies  of  this  nature,"  Lord  Glenolg  replied,  "every 
man  conversant  with  public  business  must  learn  to  fortify  his  mind,"  adding, 
that  ho  regarded  them  as  the  usual  resource  of  those  who  wish  to  extort  from 
the  fears  of  governments  conclusions  in  favor  of  which  no  adequate  reasons 
can  be  offered.  Mr.  Mackenzie  often  afterwards  referred  to  this  prediction; 
and  so  far  from  having  intended  it  as  a  threat,  took  credit  for  it  as  a  warning 
of  the  inevitable  results  of  the  policy  pursued,  contending  that,  if  it  had  bcea 
heeded,  all  the  disasters  that  followed  would  have  been  averted. 


THE   CANADIAX   REBELLION. 


265 


moir"  on  the  state  of  the  Province,  embracing  a  va- 
riety of  topics.  To  this  and  some  other  documents 
Lord  Goderich  replied  at  great  length,  on  the  8th  of 
Xoveraber,  1832,  and  in  a  tone  and  temper  very  dif- 
ferent from  those  in  which  the  local  officials  were  ac- 
customed to  indulge. 

Lord  Groderich  at  first  stated  the  number  of  names 
to  the  petitions  of  which  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  the  bearer 
at  twelve  thousand  and  seventy-five  ;  while  he  added 
that  there  were  other  petitions  signed  by  twenty- six 
tliousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty-four  persons,  "  who 
concur  in  expressing  their  cordial  satisfaction  in  those 
laws  and  institutions  which  the  other  sort  of  peti- 
tioners have  impugned."     At  the   instance   of  Mr. 
Mackenzie,   Lord   Goderich    afterwards    caused    the 
names  to  be  counted  again,  and  it  was  found  that  in- 
stead of  twelve  thousand  the  number  "far  exceeded 
twenty  thousand."*    While  combating  a  great  many 
of  the  arguments  adduced  by  Mr.  Mackenzie,  Lord 
Groderich  yielded  to  his  views  upon  several  points. 
Hitherto  no  indemnity  had  been  paid  to  members  of 
the  Assembly  representing  town  constituencies.     The 
effect,  it  was  argued,  was  to  confine  the  people  in  their 
choice  of  town  representatives  to  persons  who  could 
afford  to  spend  their  time  at  the  seat  of  the  govern- 
ment during  the  legislative  session,  without  a  reim- 
bursement of  their  expenses.     Lord  Goderich  directed 
the  Governor  not  to  oppose  objection  to  any  measure 
that  might  be  presented  to  his  acceptance,  "  for  placing 

*  Letter  of  Lord  Howick  to  Mr.  ^Mfi-.'konzic,  Jnnunry  22, 1833.    Mr.  Macken- 
zie [Seventh  Report   on  Gncraiice.i)  stated  the  numbor  of  signatures  at  about 
24,500.    Earl  Eipon  afterwards  stated  the  number  at  24,500. 
34 


. !.: 


,1 


M,  t"«iI 


!ii 


IV 


266 


LIFE   OF    MACKENZIE,  ANT) 


)  ■,;  ■«  i  .ug  * 


the  town  and  county  representatives  on  the  same  foot- 
ing in  this  respect."     He  agreed  to  place  upon  the 
same  footing  as  Quakers  other  religious  bodies  who 
had  a  like  objection  to  taking  an  oath.     Another  com- 
plaint Lord  Goderich  had  anticipated.     It  was  alleged 
that  the  local  Executive  distributed  the  public  lands 
among  their  favorites  without  the  authority  of  law; 
and  His  Majesty,  upon  the  advice  of  the  Colonial 
minister,  interdicted  the  gratuitous  disposal  of  public 
lands,  and  requested  that  they  should  be  made  subject 
to  public  competition,  with  a  view  "  to  the  utter  ex- 
clusion of  any  such  favoritism  as  is  thus  deprecatecV" 
He  instructed  the  Lieutenant  Governor  to  adopt  ail 
constitutional  means  to  procure  a  repeal  of  the  law 
which   disqualified   British   subjects  from   voting  at 
elections,  after  their  return  from  foreign  countries; 
also  that  '*  His  Majesty  expects  and  requires  of  you 
neither  to  practice,  nor  to  allow  on  the  part  of  those 
who  are  officially  subordinate  to  you,  any  interference 
with  the  right  of  His  Majesty's  subjects  to  the  free 
and  unbiassed  choice  of  their  representatives."    In 
the  name  of  His  Majesty's  Government,  Lord  Glenelg 
disclaimed  all  responsibility  for  the  opinion  attributed 
to  Mr.  Robinson,  that  the  children  of  the  yeomanry 
ought  to  be  consigned  to  ignorance  lest  knowledge 
should   render    them    independent  in    thought  and 
action ;  and  he  enlarged  on  the  advantages  of  popular 
education.     "In   the   same  spirit,"  he  added,  "His 
Majesty  now  directs  me  to  instruct  you  to  forward  to 
the  utmost  extent  of  your  lawful  authority  and  influ- 
ence, every  scheme   for  the   extension   of  education 
amongst  the  youth  of  the  Province,  and  especially  the 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


267 


poorest  and  most  destitute  among  their  number,  which 
niav  be  suggested  from  any  quarter,  with  a  reasonable 
prospect  of  promoting  that  design."     It  had  been  the 
custom  of  the  Lieutenant  Grovernors  to  excuse  them- 
selves from  laying  a  full  statement  of  the  revenue  and 
expenditure  before  the  Legislature,  by  pleading  the 
restrictions  imposed  by  their  instructions.     But  Lord 
Goderich  rendered  this  excuse  impossible  in  future, 
by  the  averment  that  "  if  the  Royal  instructions  are 
supposed  to  forbid  the  most  unreserved  communica- 
tion with  the  House  of  Assembly  of  the  manner  in 
which  the  public  money,  from  whatever  source  derived, 
is  expended,  such  a  construction  is  foreign  to  His  Ma- 
jesty's design."     "  Nothing,"  it  was  added,  "  io  to  be 
gained  by  concealment  upon  questions  of  this  nature, 
and  a  degree  of  suspicion  and  prejudice  is  naturally 
excited,  v/hich,  however  ill-founded,  often  appears  in 
the  result  to  be  incurable."     Coming  to  the  question 
of  ecclesiastics  holding  seats  in  the  Legislative  Coun- 
cil, Lord  Goderich  said  it  was  expected  of  the  Bishop 
and  the  Archdeacon,  "  that  they  should  abstain  from 
interference  in  any  secular  matter  that  may  be  agitated 
at  that  Board."      But   even    under  this  restriction, 
Lord  Groderich  added,  "  I  have  no  solicitude  for  retain- 
ing either  the  Bishop  or  the  Archdeacon  on  the  list  of 
Legislative  Councillors ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  rather 
predisposed  to  the  opinion  that,  by  resigning  their 
seats,  they  would   best  consult  their  own   personal. 
comfort,  and  the  success  of  their  designs  for  the  spiri- 
tual good  of  the  people."     But  as  their  seats  were 
held  for  life,  their  resignations  must  be  voluntary ; 
since,  it  was  argued,  there  would  be  no  justification 


y\ 


■»^:      F 


"    ! 


268 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


^i:u. 


for  degrading  them  from  their  positions,  when  no  spe- 
cific violation  of  duty  had  been  imputed  to  them.  If 
the  expense  of  elections  was  so  inordinate  as  repre- 
sented, the  Lieutenant  Governor  was  instructed  to 
"  signify  to  the  Legislative  bodies  that  it  is  the  earnest 
desire  of  His  Majesty,  that  every  practical  method 
should  be  taken  for  correcting  what  would  be  so  great 
an  evil,  by  reduci  ig  the  cost  "  within  the  narrowest 
possible  limit."  In  reference  to  an  independent  judi- 
ciary, so  strongly  opposed  by  Mr.  Stephens,  counsel 
to  the  Colonial  office  in  1828,  Lord  Goderich,  antici- 
pating the  complaints  now  addressed  to  him,  had  di- 
rected the  Lieutenant  Governor  to  suggest  the  enact- 
ment of  a  bill  for  that  purpose.  Thus  another  point, 
urged  by  Mr.  Mackenzie  and  those  who  acted  witli 
him,  when  they  conceived  that  Judge  Willis  was 
offered  up  a  sacrifice  to  the  displeasure  of  the  local 
Executive,  had  been  gained. 

Such  are  some  of  the  concessions  obtained  by  Mr. 
Mackenzie,  during  his  visit  to  England,  from  the  Im- 
perial Government.  The  dispatch  of  Lord  Godericli 
was  intended  for  the  public  eye,  and  its  style  was 
eminently  diplomatic.  On  several  points  he  differed 
from  Mr.  Mackenzie ;  and  sometimes  he  succeeded 
in  putting  his  correspondent  in  the  wrong.  Unfortu- 
nately, there  were  reasons,  as  afterwards  appeared,  for 
doubting  the  sincerity  of  some  of  Lord  Goderich's  pro- 
fessions. In  this  very  dispatch,  he  said :  "  With  respect 
to  the  charge  of  showing  an  undue  preference  to  preachers 
of  religion  belonging  to  the  established  churches  of  this 
country,  it  is  so  utterly  at  variance  with  the  whole 
course  of  policy  which  it  has  been  the  object  of  my 


;;«' 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


269 


dispatches  to  yourself  to  prescribe,  that  I  cannot 
pause  to  repel  it  in  any  formal  manner."  On  the  5th 
of  April  of  the  same  year,  he  had  written  in  reply  to  a 
private  dispatch  of  Sir  John  Colborne:  "I  quite  con- 
cur with  you  in  thinking  that  the  greatest  benefit  to 
the  Church  of  England  would  be  derived  from  apply- 
ing a  portion  of  the  [Clergy  Reserves]  funds  at  least 
under  the  control  of  the  Executive  Government,  in 
the  building  of  rectories  and  churches ;  and  I  would  add, 
in  preparing  as  far  as  may  be  for  profitable  occupa- 
tion, that  moderate  portion  of  land  whicn  you  propose 
to  assign  in  each  township  or  parish  for  increasing  the 
future  comfort,  if  not  the  complete  maintenance,  of  the 
rectors."  This  dispatch  appears  to  have  been  marked/ 
"private,"  when  it  was  written;  but  tho  seal  of  privacy 
was  taken  from  it  when  it  was  published  by  order  of 
tlie  House  of  Commons,  some  years  after.  '    . 

The  reception  which  the  dispatch  of  Lord  God- 
erich  met  at  the  hands  of  the  Family  Compact,  shows 
better  than  almost  any  thing  else  the  lengths  to  which 
a  Provincial  faction,  spoiled  by  a  long  course  of  un- 
checked and  irresponsible  power,  carried  its  insolence. 
The  Legislative  Council,  instead  of  placing  it  on  their 
journals,  took  the  unusual  course  of  returning  it  to 
the  Governor.  Mr.  Mackenzie's  correspondence,  to 
which  the  Colonial  Secretary  had  taken  so  much  trouble 
to  reply,  they  assured  the  Lieutenant  Governor  they 
viewed  "  with  the  most  unqualified  contempt ;"  and  the 
dispatch  of  Lord  Goderich,  so  far  as  it  was  a  reply  to 
that  correspondence,  they  could  not  "  regard  as  calling 
for  the  serious  attention  of  the  Legislative  Council." 
This  branch  of  the  Legislature  felt  a  presentiment  of 


fi 


u1 


if    I 


'1 


ft     '    ■■'!   «l| 


!  m 


.1?  r\' 


u 


M 


ii      H       I    tJbX) 


270 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


its  impending  doom.  Its  equanimity  was  seriously 
disturbed  by  the  question  of  its  being  made  elective 
having  been  raised.  We  can  now  look  back  with  per- 
fect composure  upon  the  party  quarrels  of  those  days; 
but  it  is  impossible  for  any  impartial  observer  not  to 
be  struck  with  the  fact  that  the  Tories  of  those  times 
were  the  real  revolutionists.  A  Crown-nominated 
chamber,  crowded  with  placemen  and  dependents 
upon  the  government,  pursued  a  course  of  conduct 
that  cni's^ed  a  demand  to  be  made  for  an  Eluctivc 
Uouncil ;  and  to  this  circumstance  we  owe  a  revolution 
.11  tl'.at  branch  of  the  Legislature.  Whether  that 
i;ha,ngv  will  eventually  prove  to  be  for  evil  or  for  good, 
10  is  :'ii  |'v>ssible  yet  to  say. 

The  Legislative  Assembly  discussed,  at  great  length, 
the  question  of  sending  back  this  dispatch.  Attorney 
General  Boulton  thought  it  ill  became  the  Colonial 
Secretary  to  "  sit  down  and  answer  all  this  rigmarole 
trash;"  and  that  "it  would  much  less  become  the 
House  to  interfere  with  it,"  by  giving  it  publicity. 
His  whole  speech  w:is  in  a  characteristic  tone  of  su- 
preme contempt.  Solicitor  General  Hagerman  ob- 
jected to  the  printing  of  the  papers.*  Mr.  Vankough- 
net,  though  Delongiiig  to  the  majority  of  the  House, 
met  such  speakers  as  the  Artorney  and  the  Solicitor 
General  by  their  own  ar.;Tments.  '  ^'*,"  he  said, 
'•  you  are  opposeil  to  Mr.  Mackenzie,  there  (;an  be  no 

*  Alter  his  reinstatement  in  office,  fK->ni  which  his  dismissal  will  shortly  if 
described.  Mr.  llagorman  found  it  necessary  to  declare  his  conctrrerce  ra 
the  principles  laid  down  in  this  dispatch.  On  the  5th  of  February,  1836,  he 
voted  for  a  resolution  pledging  the  House  to  "advance  and  mairtuin  the  ^rir. 
ciplc-j  of  government  set  forth  in  the  dispatch,"  "of  the  Risjht  Hon.  the  S»" 
of  Kipon  (previously  Lord  Goderich)  of  the  8th  of  November,  1832." 


THE   CANADIAN    KEBELLION. 


271 


botter  mode,  if  his  papers  [sent  with  the  dispatch] 
contain  such  falsehood  and  fallacy  as  it  is  pretended 
they  do,  to  expose  him  than  by  publishing  them."  The 
House,  by  a  vote  of  twenty-one  against  twelve,  resolved 
not  to  allow  the  documents  accompanying  the  dispatch, 
and  on  which  it  was  founded,  to  go  upon  the  journals. 
A  subsequent  House  gave  such  portions  of  these  docu- 
ments as  Mr.  Mackenzie  selected  an  enduring  record, 
in  the  famous  Seventh  Beport  of  the  Committee  on 
Grievances.       '      •■    .  ,  i      -  , 

The  newspaper  advocates  of  the  official  party  Avent 
a  little  beyond  the  officials  themselves.  The  principal 
of  them*  described  the  dispatch  of  Lord  Goderich  as 
"an  elegant  piece  of  fiddle-faddle,"  "full  of  clever 
stupidity  and  condescending  impertinence." 

But  the  end  was  not  yet.  The  repeated  expulsions 
of  Mr.  Mackenzie  from  the  Legislative  Assembly,  in 
which  Crown  officers  had  borne  a  conspicuous  and  dis- 
creditable part,  had  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Im- 
perial Government.  The  constitutional  objections  to 
the  proceeding  had  been  brought  before  the  attention 
of  the  Lieutenant  Governor,  for  the  information  of  the 
Crown  law  officers.  The  objections  which  the  Colonial 
Secretary  entertained  to  these  expulsions  were  early 
oomniunicated  to  Sir  John  Colborne ;  and  they  were 
fully  explained,  in  the  summer  of  1832,  to  the  Crown 
officers,  Messrs.  Hagerman  and  Boulton,  and  to 
others  "  whose  official  situation  placed  them  in  a 
confidential  relation  to  the  government. "f  The  matter 
was  first  broui>ht  before  the  attention  of  the  Colonial 


*  The  Courier.  ... 

t  Letter  of  General  Rowan  to  Mr.  Mackenzie,  November  30,  1833. 


'     '       j      i'  ifi  I 

mi 

'    "          i               K,' 

•  1  m 

;  1 .  ■     ! 

■  ■''■.  ' 

• 

■ 

i 

•J. 


h-ri 

I: 


^^ 


ni- 1 


272 


LIFE   OF  MACKENZIE,  AND 


:'    lis' 


office  by  Mr.  Hume ;  and  the  authorities  sent  instruc. 
tions  to  Sir  John  Colborne  to  desire  the  officials  by 
whom  he  was  surrounded  not  to  be  concerned  in  the 
repetition  of  so  objectionable  a  procedure.  But  not- 
withstanding this  warning,  they  remained  contuma- 
cious. While  absent,  in  England,  Mr.  Mackenzie  had 
again  been  expelled  from  the  Legislative  Assembly; 
and  the  Attorney  General,  opposing  his  constitutional 
law  to  that  of  the  Imperial  Government,  argued  for  the 
legality  of  the  course  pursued  by  the  House.  Both 
the  Crown  officers  voted  for  a  motion  to  return  the 
dispatch  and  accompanying  documents,  and  found 
themsclv^es  in  a  minority. 

The  Solicitor  General,  who  had  obtained  an  odious 
distinction  for  the  virulence  of  his  language,  in  urging 
the  previous  expulsion  of  a  political  opponent,  had 
attempted  to  preserve  his  consistenc;'^  by  inducing  a 
majority  of  the  Assembly  to  read  Lord  Goderich  a 
lecture  for  having,  in  his  dispatch,  noticed  allegations 
that  "  rested  on  no  better  testimony  than  that  of  an 
individual  who  had  been  twice  expelled  this  House, 
and  who,  in  consequence  of  his  having  fabricated  and 
reiterated  libels  of  the  grossest  description,  had  been 
declared  unfit  and  unworthy  of  a  seat  in  the  Assem- 
bly during  the  present  Parliament."  Of  what  these 
"  libels"  consisted  we  have  already  seen.  The  resolu- 
tion  of  the  House,  that  pretended  to  create  an  arbi- 
trary disability  unknown  to  the  law,  was  the  produc- 
tion of  the  Solicitor  General,  and  to  sustain  his  own 
act  he  found  it  necessary  to  undertake  to  snub  his 
superiors.     The  dismissal  of  Attorney  General  Boul- 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


273 


ton  and  Solicitor  General   Hagerman,*  resolved  upon 
in  March,  1833,  was  the  result  of  the  discreditable 

»The  subjoined  correspondence,  which  took  place  at  York,  explains  the 

cause  of  these  dismissals : — 

••GOVKKNMKNT  H0U8K,  April  29,  1838. 

"Sib:— I  have  the  honor,  by  the  direction  of  the  Lieutenant  Governor,  to 

transmit  to  you  the  accompanying  copy  of  a  dispatch  from  the  Secretary  of 

State  for  the  Colonies,  in  which  His  Excellency  is  interested,  to  inform  you  and 

the  Solicitor  General,  that  His  Majesty  regrets  he  can  no  longer  avail  himself 

of  your  services,  and  that  you  are  to  be  relieved  from  the  duties  of  your  re- 

Epoctivo  oflSccs.  I  have,  «&c., 

"  [Signed]  "William  Kowan. 

"Henry  John  Boulton,  Esq.,  &c.,  &o.,  &c. 

"No.  118.  [COPY.] 

"Downing  Street,  March  6,  1833. 

"Sik:— By  the  accounts  I  have  lately  received  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Le- 
gislature of  Upper  Canada,  I  have  learned  that  the  Attorney  and  Solicitor 
Gincnil  of  that  Province  have,  in  their  places  in  the  Assembly,  taken  a  part 
directly  opposed  to  the  avowed  policy  of  His  Majesty's  Government.  As  mem- 
bers of  the  Provincial  Parliament,  Mr.  Boulton  and  Mr.  Hagerman  are,  of 
oourse,  bound  to  act  upon  their  own  view  of  what  is  most  for  the  interest  of 
their  constituents,  and  of  the  Colony  at  large ;  but  if,  upon  questions  of  great 
political  importance,  they  unfortunately  difler  in  opinion  from  His  Majesty's 
(jovernmcnt,  it  is  obvious  that  they  cannot  continue  to  hold  confidential  situa- 
tions in  His  Majesty's  service,  without  either  betraying  their  duty  as  memberB 
of  the  Legislature,  or  bringing  the  sincerity  of  the  Government  into  question, 
by  their  opposition  to  the  policy  which  His  Majesty  has  been  advised  to  pursue. 

"His  Majesty  can  have  no  wish  that  Mr.  Boulton  and  Mr.  Hagerman  should 
adopt  the  first  of  these  alternatives;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  he  cannot  allow 
the  measures  of  his  Government  to  be  impeded  by  the  opposition  of  the  Law 
Oicert,  of  the  Crown.  In  order,  therefore,  that  these  gentlemen  may  be  at 
full  liberty,  as  members  of  the  Legislature,  to  follow  the  dictates  of  their  own 
judgment,  I  have  received  His  Majesty's  commands  to  inform  you  that  he 
regrets  that  he  can  no  longer  avail  himself  of  their  services,  and  that  from  the 
time  of  your  receiving  this  dispatch,  they  are  to  be  relieved  from  the  duties 
imposed  upon  them  in  their  respective  offices. 

"  You  will  transmit  copies  of  this  dispatch  to  Mr.  Boulton  and  Mr.  Hager- 
man. I  have  the  honor,  &c.,  «&c., 

"  [Signed]  Goderich. 

"M.  G.  Sir  John  Colborne,  K.  C.  B.,  &c.,  &c.,  &c. 

'«  York,  April  29,  1833. 

"  Sir  :— Under  the  circumstances  in  which  I  find  myself  suddenly  placed, 
without  any  previous  intimation  from  His  Majesty's  Government,  and  more 
85 


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LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


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part  they  had  taken  in  the  repeated  expulsion  of  Mr. 
Mackenzie  from  the  Legishiturc,  as  well  as  for  having 
upon  other  questions,  oi^posed  the  policy  of  the  Impe- 
rial Government,  and  thus  cast  doubts  upon  the  sin- 
cerity  of  its  moti  /es.  Mr.  Mackenzie  had  described 
them  to  Lord  Goderich  as  "  the  most  active  men  in 
the  Province  in  their  opposition  to  measures  to  which 
your  Lordshiji  and  the  people  are  friendly ;"  and  as 
being  backed  in  the  Executive  Council  by  their  rela- 
tives, who,  it  was  said,  formed  a  majority  of  its  mem- 
bers. "  Without  some  change  of  men,"  added  Mr. 
Mackenzie,  "  what  are  considered  good  measures  can- 
not be  carried  into  effect.  A  Governor  would  stand 
alone  if  he  was  to  declare  himself  of  your  Lordship's 
opinion.  All  his  legal  advisers  would  be  found  his 
uncompromising  opponents ;"  for  which  inconvenience, 
one  would  surpose,  a  ^-.miedy  would  be  found  in  their 

especially  in  the  absence  of  the  S()li;;itor  General,  who  is  equally  afl'ected  by 
the  measure  with  myself,  I  feel  it  due  to  him,  as  well  as  to  myself,  and  to  our 
respejtivo  friends,  to  request,  that  His  Excellency  will  have  the  kindno'sto 
inform  me  for  what  breach  of  public  duty  His  Majesty  has  been  advised  tore- 
move  us  from  oflBce  ?  I  have  the  honor,  &c., 

«<  [Signed]  H.  J.  Boulton. 

"  To  Lieutenant  Colonel  Kowan, 

"  Private  Secretary  to  the  Lievlenant  Oovernor." 

"Government  House,  April 29, 1833. 
"  Sir  : — I  have  the  honor  to  acquaint  you  in  reply  to  your  letter  of  this  day, 
that  the  Lieutenant  Governor  understands,  that  the  part  of  your  political  pro- 
ceedings to  which  the  dispatch  of  the  Secretary  of  State  particularly  adverts,  is 
that  you  and  the  Solicitor  General  promoted  the  repeated  expulsion  of  u  mem- 
ber of  the  Assembly,  although  the  constitutional  objections  to  that  course  bad 
been  conveyed  to  His  Excellency  by  His  Majesty's  Government,  and  were,  it 
is  concluded,  communicated  by  him  to  you. 

"  I  have  the  honor,  &c.,  &c., 
"  [Signed]  WlLLlAM  IloWAN. 

"To  H.  J.  Boulton,  Esq.,  &c.,  &c.,  &c." 


THE  CANADIAN    RERKLLION. 


275 


dismissal.  Mr.  Mackenzie)  fnumcrutcd  a  long  list  of 
(iiiestioiis,  on  which  lie  assured  Lord  Godcrich  tho 
Crown  officers  had  opposed  the  wishes  of  the  King's 
government.  Ani«mg  them  were  :  A  reform  of  the  ex- 
clusive charter  of  King's  College  ;  the  monopoly  by  the 
Church  of  England  of  the  Clergy  Reserves  ;  eligibility 
of  Quakers  for  election  to  the  Legislature  ;  the  disfran- 
uiising  of  British  subjects  for  seven  ^eurs  after  tiieir 
return  to  Canada;  the  indemnity  of  members  of  tho 
Assembly  representing  town  constituencies ;  the  ex- 
pulsion, contrary  to  law,  of  a  member  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, a  second  time  for  the  same  offence ;  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  judges;  and  the  naturalization  of 
aliens. 

The  removal  of  Messrs.  IJoulton  and  Hagerman 
was  made  before  these  statements  were  reduced  to 
writing.  On  the  7th  of  March,  Mr.  Mackenzie  had  a 
long  interview  with  Lord  Ilowick,  under-Secretary  of 
State  for  the  Colonies,  at  the  Colonial  office ;  and  it 
was  at  the  request  of  that  official  that  he  put  his  com- 
plaint against  the  Crown  officers  into  writing.  Next 
day,  March  8,  they  assumed  the  required  form ;  and 
on  the  10th,  he  had  another  interview  with  Lord  Gode- 
rich,  when,  in  reference  to  the  Crown  officers,  the 
Under-Secretary  remarked:  "They  are  removed." 
But  it  appears,  by  the  date  of  Lord  Goderich's  letter, 
that  their  removal  had  been  determined  on  four  days 
before.  ■    . 

Mr.  Jameson  was  ppointed  Attorney  General,  and 
Mr.  Mackenzie  said  he  had  good  reasons  for  believing 
that  Dr.  Rolph,  whom  he  recommended,  was  made 
Solicitor  General,  but  that  Sir  John  Colborne  and 


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LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


Chief  Justice  Robinson  prevented  the  appointment 
taking  effect.  v,r^„ 

When  the  dispatch  of  Lord  Goderich,  ordering  the 
removal  of  the  Crown  Law  officers,  reached  Upper 
Canada,  Mr.    Hagerman   had  started  for  England, 
where,  on  the  6th  of  May,  while  going  into  the  Colo- 
nial office,  he  met  Mr.  Mackenzie  coming  out.    Mr. 
Boulton  was  at  York,  but  soon  followed.     It  is  inter- 
esting to  see  how  the  official  party,  which  had  long 
claimed  a  monopoly  of  loyalty,  bore  this  reverse.    An 
article  appeared  in  the   Upper  Canada  Courier^  attri- 
buted to  the  pen  of  the  deprived  Attorney  General, 
containing  direct  threats  of  rebellion.    The  removal 
of  these  two  functionaries  was  described  as  being  "  as 
high  handed  and  arbitrary  a  stretch  of  power  as  has 
been  enacted  before  the  face  of  high  heaven,  in  any  of 
the  four  quarters  of  this  nether  world,  for  many  and 
many  a  long  day."      "  The  united  factions  of  Mac- 
kenzie, Goderich,  and  the  Yankee  Methodists"  were 
spoken  of  in  the  most  contemptuous  terms.   The  friends 
of  Messrs.  Boulton  and    Hagerman   it  was  confessed, 
"  instead  of  dwelling  with  delight  and  confidence  upon 
their  connection  with  the  glorious  empire  of  their 
sires,  with  a  determination  to  support  that  connection, 
as  many  of  them  have  already  supported  it,  with  their 
fortunes  or  their  blood,  their  affections  are  already 
more  than  half  alienated  from  the  government  of  that 
country ;  and  in  the  apprehension  that  the  same  insult- 
ing and  degrading  course  of  policy  towards  thein  is 
likely  to  be  continued,  they  already  begin  to  'cast 
about '  in  '  their  mind's  eye,'  for  some  new  state  of 
political   existence,  which   shall  effectually  put  the 


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Mr. 
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put  the 


THE  CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


277 


colony  beyond  the  reach  of  injury  and  insult  from  any 
and  every  ignoramus  whom  the  political  lottery  of  the 
day  may  chance  to  elevate  to  the  chair  of  the  Colonial 
office."  The  Colonial  Secretary,  it  was  added,  by  his 
course  of  liberality,  had  not  only  "  alienated  the  aflfec 
tions"  of  the  Boulton  -  Hagerman  school  of  politi- 
cians; but  had  "produced  the  feelings  of  resent- 
ment, and  views  with  regard  to  the  future,"  which 
caused  them  to  look  for  "  some  new  state  of  political 
existence." 

When  Mr.  Mackenzie  came  into  possession  of  Lord 
Goderich's  dispatch,  he  at  once  desired  Mr.  Hume  to 
withdraw  his  intended  petition  to  the  House  of  Com- 
mons ;  and  he  wrote  to  Canada,  expressing  a  hope  that 
no  more  petitions  would  be  sent  to  England ;  since  the 
Imperial  Government  had  shown  its  anxiety  to  redress 
all  the  greivances  that  had  been  a  subject  of  com- 
plaint. The  dismissal  of  the  Crown  officers  com- 
pleted his  satisfaction. 

But  affairs  were  soon  to  take  another  turn.  Mr. 
Hagerman  arrived  in  England  about  the  time  the 
dispatch  ordering  his  removal  reached  Canada ;  and 
Mr.  Boulton  followed  immediately  on  learning  of  his 
dismissal.  Mr.  Stanley,  who  succeeded  Lord  Gode- 
rich  as  Secretary  for  the  Colonies,  restored  Mr.  Hag- 
erman to  his  official  position,  in  the  June  following ; 
within  three  months  Hter  his  dismissal.  It  was  after- 
wards officially  stated  that  his  restoration  was  the  con- 
sequeii3e  of  exculpatory  evidence  offered  by  Mr.  Hag- 
erman. Mr.  Boulton  at  the  same  time  obtained  the 
office  of  Chief  Justice  of  Newfoundland,  where  he 
soon  embroiled  himself  with  a  large  and  influential 


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278 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


section  of  the  population.  The  Imperial  Government, 
conceiving  his  usefulness  to  be  destroyed,  relieved 
him  of  that  charge  also  *  He  besieged  the  Colonial 
office  for  a  pension  or  other  compensation ;  but  the 
Imperial  Government,  not  feeling  that  he  was  entitled 
to  the  one  or  the  other,  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  his  de- 
mands. He  never  afterwards  obtained  any  position 
to  wipe  out  the  stain  of  that  dismissal.  ,     - 

Mr.  Mackenzie,  recently  overjoyed  at  the  success  he 
had  met,  in  obtaining  the  concessions  contained  in 
Lord  Goderich's  dispatch,  and  the  dismissal  of  law 
officers  of  the  Crown  in  Upper  Canada, f  was  now 
plunged  into  despair  by  finding  a  portion  of  that  suc- 
cess already  nelitralized.  He  addressed  to  Mr.  Stan- 
ley a  memorial,  the  object  of  which  was  to  procure  the 
cancelling  of  Mr.  Hagerman's  re-appointment.  It 
was  of  course  not  successful ;  and  it  may  well  be  ques- 
tioned whether  it  was  judicious  to  tell  the  Colonial 
Secretary  that  the  re-appointment  "  would  be  a  spoke 
in  the  wheel  of  another  violent  revolution  in  America." 
After  recently  expressing  the  greatest  confidence  in 
the  justice  of  the  Imperial  Government,  he  now  bit- 

*  In  the  report  of  the  Privy  Council,  deciding  upon  Mr.  Boulton's  removal 
from  the  Chief  Justiceship  of  Newfoundland,  July  5,  1838,  we  find  the 
members  expressing  regret  "  to  be  under  the  necessity  of  reporting  that  we 
have  found,  in  some  of  the  transactions  brought  under  our  consideration,  so 
much  of  indiscretion  in  the  conduct  of  the  Chief  Justice,  and  that  he  has 
permitted  himself  so  much  to  participate  in  the  strong  feelings  which  appear 
unfortunately  to  have  influenced  the  different  parties  in  the  Colony,  (although 
we  do  not  find  that  his  judicial  decisions  have  been  affected  thereby,)  that  we 
feel  it  our  duty  to  state  that  we  think  it  will  be  inexpedient  that  he  should  be 
continued  in  the  office  of  Chief  Justice  of  Newfoundland." 

f  On  the  6th  of  May,  he  wrote:  •'  Nothing  can  exceed  the  willingness  I  have 
of  late  found  on  the  part  of  the  government  here,  to  do  the  people  justice,  in 
the  North  American  Provinces." 


Hi 


t  rii 


THE   CANADIAN  EEBELLIoN. 


279 


terly  exclaimed:  "I  ara  disappointed.  The  prospect 
before  us  is  indeed  dark  and  gloomy."  '  ■m'I  =  ;  i: 
The  restoration  of  Mr.  Hagerman  seems  to  have 
been  due  as  much,  if  not  more,  to  the  change  that  had 
taken  place  in  the  administration  of  the  Colonial 
office,*  as  to  the  exculpatory  evidence  he  had  offered. 
Lord  Goderich,  so  long  as  he  retained  the  seals, 
continued  to  court  interviews  with  Mr.  Mackenzie, 
and  to  solicit  information  from  him  on  the  affairs  of 
Canada.  Thus  on  the  27th  of  March,  1833,  Lord 
Howick  wrote  him:  "I  am  desired  by  his  Lordship 
to  acquaint  you  that  he  is  disposed  to  think  that  much 
advantage  might  be  derived  from  a  personal  commu- 
nication from  yourself  and  Mr.  Viger,  either  to  this 
place,  the  Postmaster  General,  or  the  Secretary  of  the 
Post-office,  on  the  questions  which  have  been  agitated 
in  Upper  and  Lower  Canada,  respecting  the  Post- 

»"I  am  Borry  to  observe,"  wrote  Mr.  Hume  to  Mr.  Mackenzie,  under 
date, 'Bryanston  Square,  June  24,  1833,'  "by  some  of  the  proceedings  of  Mr. 
Stanley,  that  he  is  rather  disposed  to  promote  than  to  punish  the  men  who 
have  been  removed  from  Upper  Canada  for  improper  conduct,  and  thereby 
to  encourage  misgovernment  on  the  part  of  the  public  ofiBcers  of  that  Province 
wliich  Lord  Goderich's  late  proceedings  were  calculated  to  prevent."  "  In- 
dood,"  Mr.  Hume  added,  "the  promotion  of  Mr.  Boulton  to  a  high  judicial 
office  in  Newfoundland,  after  the  declaration  of  Lord  Goderich  of  his  conduct 
and  unfitness  for  office,  I  consider  as  an  insult  to  the  people  of  Upper  Canada, 
and  to  every  lover  of  good  government ;  and  it  may  be  taken  as  an  earnest 
tkthe  will  support  the  misgovernment  which  Lord  Goderich  had  set  himself 
against."  Lord  Stanley  consulted  Earl  Ripon  (previously  Lord  Goderich)  on 
the  appointment  of  Mr.  Boulton  to  the  Chief  Justiceship  of  Newfoundland ; 
and  the  latter,  though  he  had  dismissed  him  from  the  Attorney  Generalship 
of  Upper  Canada,  gave  his  entire  concurrence  in  the  new  appointment.  •«! 
flm  bound  to  add,"  says  Earl  Ripon,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Boulton,  dated  Au- 
gust 20,  1835,  "that  though  the  explanations  which  you  gave  on  your  return 
to  England  did  not,  in  my  judgment,  alter  the  facts  upon  which  I  had  advised 
a  change  in  your  situation,  they  did  affect  the  inference  which  had  been  drawn 
from  those  facts." 


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280 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


i  ? 


i 


office,  in  those  Provinces."  If  his  known  inten- 
tion to  leave  London,  in  a  few  days,  would  prevent  a 
personal  interview,  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  requested  to 
put  any  suggestions  he  might  have  to  make  into 
writing.  He  thereupon  drew  up  a  scheme  of  Post- 
offi  30  reform  for  the  Province ;  supporting  his  recom- 
mendation  by  a  number  of  documents,  including 
several  reports  on  the  subject  by  committees  of  the 
Houses  of  Assembly,  in  Upper  and  Lower  Canada. 
The  request  for  an  interview,  on  the  part  of  Lord 
Goderich,  was  repeated ;  but  when  that  gentleman  was 
about  resigning  the  administration  of  the  Colonial 
office,  he  directed  that  the  whole  matter  be  left  over 
for  the  determination  of  Mr.  Stanley.  The  new  Colo- 
nial minister  decided  to  send  for  Mr.  Stayner,  Deputy 
Postmaster  General  at  Quebec,  to  hear  his  explana- 
tion, before  arriving  at  any  conclusion ;  and  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie left  London  the  day  on  which  Mr.  Stayner 
arrived  there.  The  result  of  these  movements  of  Mr. 
Mackenzie  was  to  bring  out  information  regarding  the 
Post-office  revenue,  which  had  been  persistently  re- 
fused to  the  demands  of  the  House  of  Assembly.  A 
return,*  which  Mr.  Stayner  was  requested  to  make  for 

*  This  return  formed  a  gauge  of  the  circulation  of  the  Canadian  journals; 
though  of  course  the  entire  edition  did  not  go  by  mail.  The  amount  of  postage 
paid  on  the  different  papers  in  Canada,  in  1830,  was : 

Uppbk  Canada. — Christian  Guardian  (Sterling  Money),  £228 ;  Colonial 
Advocate,  £57;  Courier,  £45;  Watchman,  £24;  Upper  Canada  Gazette,  £18; 
Canadian  Wcsleyan,  (commenced,  1831,)  £18;  Brockvillo  Recorder,  £16 ;  Ham- 
ilton Free  Press,  (commenced,  1831,)  £11;  Catholic,  0;  Patriot,  £6;  Star.O; 
York  Observer,  £3;  Kingston  Chronicle,  £10;  Kingston  Herald,  £11 ;  Brock- 
villa  Gazette,  £6;  Niagara  Gleaner,  and  the  Herald  (together),  £17;  St, 
Catharines  Journal,  £6 ;  Perth  Examiner,  £10. 

LowKB  Canada. — Quebec  Gazette  (thrice  a  week),  £66 ;  Montreal  Gazetta 
(thrico  a  week),  £57  ;  Montreal   Herald   (twice  a  week),  and  New  Gazette 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


281 


the  information  of  the  Houbo  of  Commons,  showed 
him  to  be  in  possession  of  perquisites  to  several  times 
the  amount  of  his  salary.  With  allowances,  his  salary 
was  .£811  a  year;  and  he  received  in  addition  the 
whole  of  the  postage  of  Colonial  newspapers,  amount- 
ing to  £1,508,  and  a  further  sum  derived  from  postage 
on  United  States  papers,  a  percentage  on  United 
States  letters,  and  other  perquisites  not  stated  in  the 
return,  but  estimated  altogether  by  Mr.  Mackenzie — 
perhaps  too  highly — at  £2,000. 

In  course  of  a  long  interview  had  with  Mr.  Stanley, 
at  the  Colonial  office,  in  the  month  of  May,  during 
half  an  hour  of  which  an  archbishop  was  kept  waiting, 
Mr.  Mackenzie  strongly  urged  the  necessity  of  giving 
the  Canadians  the  control  of  the  Post-office  revenue, 
as  well  as  every  other  arising  in  the  Province ;  as 
mismanagement  must  lead  to  discontent  and  estrange 
the  colonist  from  the  mother  country.  Mr.  Stanley 
was  "exceedingly  kind  and  friendly;"  and  when  Mr. 
Mackenzie  was  going  away  asked  if  there  were  any 
other  matter  about  which  he  wished  to  speak ;  but  he 
made  no  "  admission  that  he  was  favorable  to  a  change 
of  the  system  condemned." 

As  has  been  already  stated,  Mr.  Mackenzie  success- 
fully invoked  the  Royal  veto  against  the  bill,  passed 
in  his  absence  from  the   House  occasioned  by  his 

(weekly),  £76  ;  Montreal  Vindicator  (twice  a  week),  il-tO  ;  Montreal  Minerve 
(twice  a  week),  £50 ;  Official  Quebec  Gazette,  jE56  ;  Canadian  Courant  (twico 
a  week),  £46;  Quebec  Mercury  (twice  a  week),  £21. 

Mr.  Thomas  Dalton,  proprietor  of  the  Patriot  newspaper,  being  examined 
before  the  Grievance  Committee  of  the  House  of  Assembly,  in  1835,  stated 
that  the  official  return  of  postage  paid  by  him  on  that  journal,  in  1829,  1880, 
and  1831,  was  not  correct.  The  whole  amount  given  for  the  three  years  was 
fO;  whereas  the  real  amount  paid  was  £70  or  £80. 
30 


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282 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,    AND 


■'t 


second  expulsion,  for  increasing  the  capital  stock  of 
the  Bank  of  Upper  Canada.  This  result  was  obtained 
after  the  objections  to  the  measure  had  been  stated  at 
length  to  Lord  Goderich,  and  much  correspondence 
with  the  Board  of  Trade.  Among  other  things,  the 
objections  stated  that  the  bank  was  in  the  habit  of 
lending  on  the  security  of  landed  property;  that 
the  act  contained  no  provision  for  winding  up  the 
affairs  of  the  corporation,  in  case  it  became  bankrupt; 
that  only  one-tenth  of  the  proposed  additional  stock 
of  £100,000  was  required  to  be  paid  down,  and  that 
the  act  did  not  define  what  would  constitute  a  fraudu- 
lent failure.  At  the  same  time,  and  for  similar  reasons, 
the  Kingston  Bank  Act  was  disallowed. 

It  may  strike  the  reader,  at  this  time  of  day,  as 
singular  that  an  agent  and  leader  of  a  Colonial  party, 
which  claimed  to  be  the  exponents  of  a  liberal  creed 
and  the  interpreters  of  popular  opinion,  should  be  so 
ready  to  invoke  the  interference  of  the  Imperial  Grov- 
ernment,  and  the  Royal  veto,  in  the  local  affairs  of  the 
Province.  To  a  certain  extent  the  seeming  anomaly 
admits  of  explanation.  On  many  questions,  the  local 
Executive,  acting  through  the  Crown-nominated  and 
dependent  Legislative  Council,  thwarted  the  wishes 
of  the  people's  representatives ;  and,  under  an  irre- 
sponsible local  administration,  there  was  no  eflfective 
appeal  possible  but  to  the  Imperial  Government.  But, 
in  some  cases,  interference  against  the  decisions  of  the 
popular  branch  of  the  Legislature  was  invoked.  Ap- 
peals of  this  nature,  unless  some  plain  and  obvious 
principle  were  violated,  could  hardly  be  justified. 

The  Rev.  Egerton  Ryerson,  arriving  in  England 


■i 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


283 


while  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  there,  was  through  him 
introduced  to  the  Colonial  office.  Mr.  Ryerson  was 
delegated  by  the  Canada  Conference  to  submit  a  pro- 
position for  an  union  between  the  body  it  represented 
and  the  English  Methodists.  Without  entering  into 
the  merits  of  the  case,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  say  that 
the  course  pursued  by  Mr.  Ryerson,  while  in  England 
and  after  his  return  to  Canada,  gave  Mr.  Mackenzie 
great  offence,  and  he  used  often,  to  the  last  yeo.rs  of 
his  life,  to  express  regret  that  he  had  done  any  thing 
to  secure  Mr.  Ryerson  admittance  to  the  Colonial 
office,  which,  in  spite  of  the  access  which  Mr.  Macken- 
zie obtained,  had  for  nearly  eighteen  months  shut  its 
doors  in  the  face  of  Mr.  Vigor,  who  went  as  the  dele- 
gate of  the  Lower  Canada  Assembly.  And  Mr.  Bald- 
win, who  afterwards  visited  London,  was  never  able 
to  obtain  an  audience  of  the  Colonial  minister.  Mr. 
Vigor  was  in  London  long  before  Mr.  Mackenzie, 
whom  he  had  vainly  solicited  to  accompany  him, 
offering  to  bear  the  charge  of  his  expenses.  ■ 

Early  in  1833,  Mr.  Mackenzie  published  in  London, 
an  octavo  volume  of  five  hundred  pages,  under  the  title 
of  Sketches  of  Canada  and  the  United  States.  It  treated 
of  a  great  variety  of  subjects,  having  no  necessary 
connection  with  one  another,  and  little  regard  was 
paid  to  method  in  the  arrangement.  The  greater  part 
of  the  book  consisted  of  notes  taken  by  the  author 
while  travelling,  at  different  times,  in  the  United 
States  and  Canada ;  and  if  this  had  been  explained,  the 
intermingling  of  topics  would  not  have  appeared  in- 
congruous, as  it  did  under  the  arrangement  adopted. 
Political  topics  were  not  forgotten  ;  and  there  was  an 


) 


^fl 


!  I, 


t^ 


\    ' 


bi 


1 
f 

1 


\ 


I      ! 


284 


LIFE   OF    MACKENZIE,  AND 


agreeable  seasoning  of  racy  and  remarkable  anecdotes. 
Illinois,  we  learn  from  this  source,  had  a  model  Gov- 
ernor,  named  Gilmer,  whose  salary  was  $500  a  year  • 
and  who,  uniting  the  business  of  tavern-keeper  to  the 
position  of  chief  magistrate,  boarded  the  members  of 
the  Legislature  at  the  rate  of  $2  a  week.  A  Brant- 
ford  clergyman  marries  a  couple  in  a  stable;  and 
when  the  ceremony  is  over,  the  bridegroom  breaks  the 
clergyman's  table  in  revenge  for  the  indignity  put 
upon  him.  Politics  form  the  serious  part  of  the  book. 
Any  thing  but  an  inviting  picture  is  drawn  of  the 
irresponsible  government  with  which  Canada  was  then 
blessed.  "The  government  of  Upper  Canada,"  we 
read,  "  is  a  despotism  ;  a  government  legally  existing 
independent  of  the  will  of  the  governed.  Responsi- 
bility to  the  people  from  their  rulers  is  in  law,"  and 
practice  too  it  might  have  been  added,  "  merely  nom- 
inal." The  book  is  gossiping,  disjointed,  pleasant  or 
censorious,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  multiform 
subjects  treated. 

Before  returning  to  Canada,  Mr.  Mackenzie  revisited 
his  native  Scotland,  in  company  with  Mrs.  Mackenzie, 
after  making  a  tour  of  a  large  part  of  England.  When 
he  arrived  in  his  native  city  of  Dundee,  he  was  struck 
with  the  changes  that  time  had  wrought.  In  a  letter 
dated  "  Dundee,  April  15,  1833,"  he  says : 

"After  a  long  absence  from  a  country,  one  of  the 
most  striking  changes  is  that  in  the  age  of  the  people. 
I  have  been  introduced  to  cousins  I  left  in  the  cradle, 
who  are  now  grown  men  and  women — some  of  them 
married,  some  studying  law,  some  at  college,  some 
clerks  in  banks,  some  learning  mechanical  occupa- 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


286 


tions,  and  others  farming.  Many  persons  I  knew  as 
heedless  youths  are  heads  of  large  fanoilies,  sober, 
staid,  and  prudent.  Not  a  few  I  knew  in  active  life 
are  now  sunk  into  the  vale  of  years  and  helplessness. 
I  have  taken  much  pains  to  find  out  some  of  my  old 
school-fellows,  but  how  altered  they  are  1  One  of  the 
most  active,  spirited,  intelligent  youths  I  ever  knew, 
is  married,  has  a  large  family,  and  toils  in  poverty  as 
laborer  on  a  farm !" 

In  the  churches  the  same  changes  are  visible : — 

"  In  the  two  Sundays  spent  here  and  in  Strathmore 
we  have  regularly  gone  to  the  Kirk,  sometimes  to  the 
Seceders,  and  sometimes  to  hear  the  established  clergy. 
The  walls  of  the  kirks,  the  seats,  the  pulpits,  many 
in  the  congregation  I  could  remember  from  infancy, 
hut  the  ministers  were,  some  of  them,  new  to  me. 
There  were  enough,  however,  of  old  recollections  to 
make  these  last  visits  to  Scottish  places  of  worship 
deeply  interesting."  n     . 

The  reference  to  last  visits  was  prophetic.  About 
two  years  before  he  died,  he  earnestly  desired  to  re- 
visit Scotland,  but  was  unable  to  gratify  that  wish. 

"  Here,"  he  says  in  another  place,  still  speaking  of 
Dundee,  "  I  was  partly  educated,  and  here  I  passed 
some  of  my  happiest  days — the  days  of  joyous  youth 
unencumbered  with  care."  This  was  the  bright  side 
of  the  picture,  for  he  had  elsewhere  said :  "  Poverty 
and  adversity  were  my  nurses,  and  in  youth  were 
want  and  misery  my  familiar  friends."  But  it  is  in 
the  nature  of  buoyant  youth  to  enjoy  gleams  of  hap- 
piness under  the  most  discouraging  circumstances. 
"  In  the  midst  of  our  relations,  friends,  and  acquaint- 


PJ    I! 


■I-  f ;. 


i*  j^ 


>'.,! 


I  ,' 


I* 


i 


286 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


■IJi' 


anccs  of  other  years,"  he  wrote  from  Dundee,  "we 
arc  passing  the  time  very  agreeably." 
,  There  was  one  thing  in  Dundee  that  he  did  not  like— 
the  misery  of  its  manufacturing  population — and  as  his 
idea  about  large  manufactories  is  opposed  to  the  idea 
now  prevalent  in  Canada,  it  may  as  well  be  given  :— 

"  The  number  of  mills  for  spinning  flax  into  yarn 
in  Dundee  is  now  very  numerous.  The  smoke  of 
their  steam-engines  darkens  the  face  of  the  heavens, 
and  many  a  poor  and  miserable  boy  and  girl  eke  out 
a  wretched  existence  by  long  and  incessant  toil  in 
these  ever-to-be  detested  establishments — the  graves  of 
morality,  and  the  parents  of  vice,  deformity,  pauper- 
ism, and  crime.  Long  may  Canada  be  free  of  all  such 
pests  !  Let  our  domestic  manufactures  be  those  which 
our  children  can  easily  carry  on  under  the  eyes  and  in 
the  houses  and  homes  of  their  fathers  and  mothers." 

While  in  Dundee  Mr.  Mackenzie  made  a  settlement 
with  such  of  his  creditors  as  he  had  been  unable  to 
pay,  when  he  left  Scotland  for  Canada,  in  1820,  with 
their  consent.  Mr.  Edward  Lesslie,  who  was  perhaps 
his  largest  Scottish  creditor,  had  long  since  emigrated 
to  Canada,  where  his  claim,  amounting  to  about  £70, 
was  paid. 

Partly  satisfied  with  his  success,  though  somewhat 
discouraged  by  the  restoration  of  Solicitor  General 
Hagerman  to  office,  Mr.  Mackenzie  left  England  for 
Canada.  The  impression  created  on  his  mind  by  the 
latter  act  was  that  there  was  little  reason  to  hope  for  a 
favorable  change  in  the  administration  of  the  govern- 
ment of  Upper  Canada.  He  left  London  on  the  2oth 
of  June,  1833,  taking  passage  in  the  Jordeson,  and 


THK   CANADIAN    UEHKLLION. 


287 


arrived  at  Quebec  on  the  18th  August,  accompanied 
by  Mrs.  Mackenzie.  Ik»th  in  Quebec  and  Montreal 
he  was  pressed  to  accept  of  public  dinners,  but  in 
l)otli  cases  ho  declined,  excusing  himself  on  the  ground 
of  liis  long  absence  from  Canada,  and  his  desire  to 
arrive  at  York  as  soon  as  possible. 

To  the  last  years  of  his  life,  Mr.  Mackenzie  was 
proiul  of  the  reforms  which  his  journey  to  England 
was  the  means  of  effecting  in  the  government  of 
Upper  Canada ;  and  he  ever  continued  to  cherish  a 
grateful  remembrance  of  the  aid  rendered  him  by 
Mr.  Ellice,  Mr.  Hume,  and  others,  from  whom  he 
received  assistance  in  the  execution  of  his  mission. 
Considering  that  he  went  to  England  in  no  official 
capacity;  that  he  was  probably  opposed  in  the  pri- 
vate communications  of  the  military  Governor ;  that 
attempts  had  been  made  by  his  enemies  to  disgrace 
him  by  thrice  expelling  him  from  the  Legislative  As- 
sembly, it  must  be  confessed  that  the  success  which 
he  achieved  was  greater  than  that  of  any  other  man 
who  ever  went  from  Canada,  in  a  non-official  capa- 
city, on  a  similar  errand. 

Of  this  journey  the  people's  agent  was  left  to  bear 
the  greater  part  of  the  expense.  The  actual  disburse- 
ments were  £676,  of  which  he  received  £150.  The 
balance  remained  unpaid  all  his  life,  and  the  country 
he  had  served  with  such  disinterested  devotion  allowed 
him  to  go  down  to  the  grave  in  poverty.  He  despised 
the  means  by  which  many  of  his  cotemporaries  sought 
to  obtain  wealth,  and  held  of  greater  value  than  stores 
of  gold  and  silver  a  reputation  unsullied  by  any  stain 
of  corruption. 


H'«t 


w    c 


■.      ! 


;;. 


ip] 


288 


LIFE   or   MACKENZIE,  AND 


}    I 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

Mr.  Mackenzie's  Third  Expulsion  from  the  Legislative  Assembly— Is  re- 
elected by  Acclamation — Befusal  of  the  Commissioners  to  administer  the 
usual  Oath — The  House  pretends  that  the  Unanimous  Election  is  no  Elec- 
tion— Refuses  to  receive  the  Member  Elect — Another  Election  by  Acclama- 
tion— A  Large  Crowd  of  Electors  accompany  Mackenzie  to  the  House- 
Excitement  in  the  crowded  Galleries — The  House  cleared  of  Strangers- 
Mackenzie  Forcibly  Ejected,  while  waiting  to  be  Sworn  in — A  Stalwart, 
Highlander  interposes — Mackenzie  declared  Expelled,  without  being  per- 
mitted to  take  the  Oath  as  a  Member — The  Attorney  General  decides  that 
the  Oath  must  be  Administered — The  Commissioners  apologize  for  not  Ad- 
ministering it — Mr.  Hume's  •'  Baneful  Domination"  Letter — Produces  great 
Excitement — The  Oath  taken — Mackenzie  walks  into  the  House  and  takes 
his  Seat — Is  Forcibly  Ejected  by  the  Sergeant-at-arms — Hissing  in  the  Gal- 
leries— The  House  refuse  to  issue  a  Writ  for  a  New  Election — Mr.  Stanley  on 
the  Constitutionality  of  one  Branch  of  the  Legislature  pretending  to  create 
a  Disability — Review  of  the  Expulsions — The  Proceedings  Expunged  from 
the  Journals  of  the  House — Mr.  McNab  votes  for  the  Erasure. 

It  has  already  been  stated  that  Mr.  Mackenzie  was 
expelled,  for  the  third  time,  from  the  House  of  As- 
sembly, while  he  was  absent  in  England.  Some  de- 
tail of  this  proceeding,  which  was  clearly  unconstitu- 
tional, must  now  be  given.  The  third  session  of  the 
eleventh  Provincial  Parliament,  of  Upper  Canada, 
commenced  on  the  31st  October,  1833.  On  the  2d 
November,  Mr.  McNab,  without  waiting  till  the  Go- 
vernor's speech  was  answered,  having  found  a  se- 
conder in  Mr.  J.  S.  Boulton,  whom  Mr.  Mackenzie 
had  offended  by  giving  him  in  the  list  of  pages  of  the 


THE  CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


289 


liBgislative  Council,  moved  that  the  entries  in  the 
journals  relative  to  the  previous  expulsion  be  read. 
Solicitor  General    Hagerraan,  who  was  then  in  pos- 
session of  the  constitutional  objections  urged  by  the 
Imperial  Government  against  these  proceedings,  con- 
tended that  though  the  county  of  York  could  elect  whom 
they  pleased,  the  House  had  the  right,  by  a  simple 
resolution,  to  determine  the  eligibility  of  whomsoever 
they  might  send ;  and  thus,  in  fact,  to  create  a  disa- 
bility not  sanctioned  by  law.    Very  little  argument 
was  required  to  convince  the  majority  that  this  mon- 
strous stretch  of  privilege  was  equally  proper  and  ex- 
pedient.   The  resolution  having  been  carried,  on  a 
division  of  fifteen  against  eight,  all  that  remained  to  be 
done  was  to  prove  or  assert  the  identity  of  the  Wil- 
liam Lyon  Mackenzie,  elected  for  York,  with  the  Wil- 
liam Lyon   Mackenzie  previously  expelled  by  the 
House,  and  to  declare  him  ineligible  to  sit  or  vote  in 
the  House.     Mr.  McNab  and  his  faithful  seconder 
thought  it  sufficient  to  assert  the  fact  and  the  disa- 
bility.   They  moved  a  second  resolution  to  this  effect.* 
Mr.  Boulton  assured  the  House  that  the  fact  was 
"notorious,  and  constituted  a  sufficient  reason  for  the 
proposed  re-expulsion."    The  second  resolution  hav- 

*  The  resolution  read:  "That  William  Lyon  Mackenzie,  Esq.,  returned  to 
serve  in  this  Assembly  as  Knight  Representative  for  the  county  of  York,  is 
the  same  William  Lyon  Mackenzie  mentioned  in  the  said  entries,  and  twice 
expelled  this  House,  and  declared  unworthy  and  unfit  to  hold  a  seat  therein, 
during  the  present  Parliament;  that  by  reason  thereof  the  said  William  Lyon 
Mackenzie  cannot  sit  or  vote  in  this  House  as  a  member  thereof."  For  which 
voted:  Messrs.  Attorney  General,  (Boulton,)  G.  S.  Boulton,  Burwoll,  Chis- 
liulm,  D.  Frazer,  Jarvis,  McNab,  Mount,  Piney,  Samson,  Shade,  Solicitor 
General  Hagerman,  Werden,  J.  Willson,  W.  Wilson.  Against  it  voted: 
Messrs.  Bidwell,  Buell,  Howard,  Ketchum,  McCall,  Norton,  Perry,  Shaver. 
37 


t 


,1 


.rf  I 


290 


LIFE   OF  MACKENZIE,   AND 


ing  been  carried,  on  the  same  division  as  the  first,  4te 
third  expulsion  was  decreed,  for  no  other  reason  than 
that  there  had  been  two  others — a  ground  which  Mr. 
McJ^ab  himself  afterwards  admitted  to  be  untenable.* 
Already  the  question  of  visiting  the  county  of  York 
with  partial  disfranchisement,  for  its  persistence  in 
sending  back  a  member  whom  the  House  had  re- 
peatedly expelled,  was  raised.  Mr.  Samson,  who  had 
taken  so  prominent  a  part  in  the  first  expulsion,  ex- 
pressed the  opinion,  that  no  writ  for  a  new  elec- 
tion ought  to  issue  till  an  act  snould  be  passed  to 
divide  the  county.  But  the  Attorney  General,  not 
wholly  unmindful  of  the  admonition  of  the  Imperial 
Government,  hesitated  to  go  to  this  length.  Still  be 
argued  that  it  would  be  the  duty  of  the  Returning 
Officer  to  refuse  any  votes  that  might  be  ofiered  for 
Mr.  Mackenzie.f  Mr.  Perry  attempted  to  obtain  from 
the  House  a  reconsideration  of  the  expulsion,  on  the 

♦  When  the  question  of  expunging  these  proceedings  from  the  Journals 
came  before  the  House,  on  the  16th  February,  1835,  Mr.  McNab  admitted  his 
error,  and  voted  for  the  motion.  "  He  was  willing  to  admit,"  he  said,  "that 
the  last  words  which  went  on  to  say  that  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  expelled  by  rea- 
son of  a  former  resolution  were  wrong,  and  we  had  no  right  to  expel  himm 
account  of  a  former  expulsion."  Mr.  McLean,  in  noticing  this  remark,  "siiw 
nothing  in  it  which  should  influence  the  minds  of  honorable  gentlemen," 

f  Ho  said,  *'  he  would  endeavor  to  show,  that  the  causes  of  the  disqualifica- 
tion of  Wilkes  and  Mackenzie  were  the  same.  They  were  both  expelled  for 
insults  against  the  House  of  which  they  had  been  constituted  members— tie 
diflerenco  being  in  their  punishment,  not  their  crime.  Wilkes  being  declared 
for  ever  unfit  to  become  a  candidate  for  the  seat,  the  other  only  for  the  present 
Parliament.  Unless  a  candidate  be  ineligible,  he  cannot  bo  prevented  from 
sitting  in  that  House ;  but  being  ineligible,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Keturning 
Officer  to  refuse  his  votes  and  not  receive  any  for  him.  He  justified  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  House  in  this  case,  on  the  grounds  of  custom  and  expediency, 
and  would  run  the  risk  of  any  abuse  of  such  precedent,  whether  the  case  should 
happen  on  the  side  which  be  espoused  or  on  the  other." 


THE  CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


J291 


ground  that  it  had  been  affirmed  when  a  large  number 
of  the  members  were  absent;  but  his  proposition  was 
supported  by  only  ten  votes,  in  a  House  of  twenty-nine 
members. 

In  the  absence  of  Mr.  Mackenzie,  his  friends  brought 
his  claims  before  the  electors.  The  electors  considered 
their  privileges  invaded ;  and  so  strong  was  the  feeling 
that  no  one  ventured  to  come  forward  and  declare 
himself  the  candidate  of  the  official  party.  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie was  therefore  unanimously  re-elected. 

The  Returning  Officer  had  not  acted  upon  the  hint  of 
the  Attorney  General,  and  assumed  that  Mr.  Macken- 
zie was  incapable  of  being  elected.  There  was  no 
opportunity  of  refusing  votes,  for  the  election  took 
place  by  acclamation;  but  if  the  Attorney  General 
was  right  in  assuming  that  any  votes  given  to  Mr. 
Mackenzie  would  be  thrown  away,  he  was  incapable 
of  being  returned  by  acclamation,  because  he  would 
have  been  incapable  of  election  ;  and,  on  this  view  of 
the  matter,  the  Returning  Officer  should  have  reported 
that  no  election  had  taken  place.  Mr.  Fitzgibbon  re- 
fused to  administer  to  the  member  elect  the  usual 
oaths.  This  time  there  was  to  be  no  expulsion.  The 
matter  had  assumed  a  new  shape.  It  was  contended 
that  there  had  been  no  election.  Mr.  Bidwell  brought 
the  qu«  tion  to  a  vote.  He  moved,  in  substance,  that 
Mr.  Mackenzie  had  been  duly  elected  for  the  county 
of  York ;  that  he  was  under  no  legal  disability,  and 
was  by  the  law  and  constitution  a  member  of  the 
House;  and  that,  upon  taking  the  oath,  which  the 
law  made  it  the  duty  of  the  commissioner  to  adminis- 
ter, he  would  have  a  right  to  ait  and  vote  in  the 


;  i 


;  »! 


1 ,, 


M 


292 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


House.      The    motion  was    rejected    on   a  vote  of 
eighteen  against  seven.*    The  effect  of  this  vote  was 
to  punish  and  disfranchise  the  county  of  York  for 
having  presumed  to  elect  a  candidate  who  was  under 
no  legal  disability.    Mr.  McNab  admitted  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie's eligibility  for  election;  but  contended  that, 
though  the  county  of  York  might  elect,  the  House  had 
the  right  to  refuse  to  receive  the  member  elected. 
Mr.  McNab  had  taken  up  an  impossible  position. 
He  had  voted  that  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  incapable  of 
holding  a  seat  in  the  House  during  that  Parliament; 
though  he  held  that  the  electors  had  a  right  to  elect 
him.     When  it  was  notorious  that  they  would  elect 
nobody  else,  the  resolution  of  the  House  not  to  re- 
ceive him  could  only  keep  up  a  perpetual  contest,  the 
practical  effect  of  which  was  to  disfranchise  the  county. 
Mr.  Perr}^  asked  the  House  to  affirm  a  principle,  which 
is  now  held  by  the  best  authorities  to  embody  sound 
constitutional  law :  that  the  House  had  no  right  with- 
out the  concurrence  of  the  other  branches  of  the  go- 
vernment, to  disfranchise  any  elector,  or  to  disquahiy 
any  person  from  being  elected,  when  such  elector  or 
person  elected  is  under  no  legal  disability;  but  he  was 
able  to  command  onlv  thirteen  votes  in  a  House  of 
thirty-two  members.     On  a  vote  of  eighteen  against 
fifteen,  the  House  then  repeated  its  resolution,  that 
Mr.  Mackenzie  should  not  be  permitted  to  take  a  seat 
or  vote  as  a  member  during  the  session ;  after  which, 


*  The  division  was:  Yeas — Messrs.  Bidwell,  Campbell,  Duncombe,  Hor- 
nor,  Howard,  Ketchum,  Shaver.  Nays — Berczy,  Boulton,  Burwdl,  Chii- 
holm,  Elliott,  A.  Frazer,  D.  Frazer,  Jarvis,  Jones,  McNab,  McNcilledgei 
Morris,  Robinnon,  Shade,  Thompson,  Werden,  John  "Willson,  W.  Wilson. 


THE   CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


293 


a  motion  ordering  a  writ  for  a  new  election  was  carried 
by  a  bare  majority  of  one;  the  minority  being  of 
opinion  that  Mr.  Mackenzie,  having  been  duly  elected, 
was  qualified  to  serve,  and  that  in  reality  there  was 
no  vacancy. 

Mr.  Mackenzie  went  back  to  his  constituents  on  the 
16th  of  December,  1833,  and  was  once  more  re-elected 
without  opposition.  It  deserves  to  be  noticed  that,  in 
his  address  to  the  electors,  he  declared  "  the  grand  de- 
fect in  the  Colonial  Constitution"  to  be  "  the  want  of 
responsible  government."  The  election  being  over,  a 
series  of  resolutions  were  put  to  the  meeting  and  car- 
ried unanimously.  Among  other  things,  they  called 
for  an  inquiry  into  the  conduct  of  Lieutenant  Governor 
Sir  John  Colborne,  whom  it  charged  with  interfering 
with  the  constitutional  rights  of  the  people.  The  in- 
tention of  a  large  body  of  the  electors  to  accompany 
Mr.  Mackenzie  to  the  House  of  Assembly,  at  York, 
being  known,  he  entreated  them  to  abstain  from  any 
acts  of  violence.  They  reached  the  House  of  As- 
sembly soon  after  midday.  The  galleries  were  soon 
filled;  some  were  admitted  below  the  bar,  and  others 
remained  in  the  lobbies,  for  want  of  room  inside.  The 
result  was  awaited  with  great  anxiety  by  the  large 
body  of  electors,  who  were  becoming  indignant  at 
being  defrauded  of  the  franchise,  by  the  repeated  ex- 
pulsion of  one  of  their  members  from  the  House,  or 
the  refusal  of  the  majority  to  receive  him.  Mr.  Perry 
rose  to  present  a  petition  against  a  repetition  of  the 
proceedings  by  which  the  county  of  York  had  been 
deprived  of  half  its  legal  representation.  Several 
members  spoke  against  receiving  it.    Mr.  McNab,  in 


I. 


<    'i 


lli 


'  u- 


294 


LIFE  OF  MACKENZIE,  AND 


opposing  its  reception,  was  hissed  from  the  gallery. 
It  was  now  proposed  to  clear  the  gallery  of  the  crowd 
of  strangers  with  which  it  was  packed ;  and  when  the 
operation  had  been  partially  completed,  the  Sergeant- 
at-arms  went  up  to  Mr.  Mackenzie,  who  was  waiting 
below  the  bar  to  be  sworn  in,  and  ordered  him  to 
leave.  He  replied  that,  as  had  been  stated  by  Mr. 
Perry,  he  had  been  unanimously  elected  by  the  county 
of  York  ;  and  that  the  writ  had  been  returned  to  the 
Clerk  of  the  Crown  in  Chancery,  who  was  present  in 
the  House.  If  leave  were  given,  he  would  prove  th<at 
he  had  a  right  there.  The  Sergeant-at-arms — Mr.  Mc- 
Nab,  father  of  the  member — then  seized  him  by  the 
collar,  in  a  violent  manner,  saying,  while  he  dragged 
him  towards  the  door,  "  You  shall  go  out."  A  brawny 
Highlander,  one  of  the  four  or  five  who  still  remained 
with  Mr.  Mackenzie,  interposed  either  with  a  blow  at 
the  officer  of  the  House,  or  held  him  back.  As  soon 
as  the  door  was  opened,  the  crowd,  who  had  descended 
from  the  gallery  to  the  lobby,  rushed  forward;  but 
before  they  could  get  in,  the  door  was  bolted  and  bar- 
ricaded with  benches,  members  and  officers  pressing 
towards  the  door  to  prevent  it  being  forced.  The  gal- 
leries, which  had  only  been  partially  cleared,  were  the 
scene  of  great  confusion.  The  excitement  was  ex- 
treme, and  the  business  of  the  House  was  brought  to 
a  stand.  Many  of  the  members  were  in  a  state  of 
violent  agitation.  Several  of  them  went  out,  and  ha- 
rangued the  people.  The  question  of  sending  to 
prison  the  stalwart  Highlander,  who  had  interfered 
with  the  Sergeant-at-arms,  was  raised  ;  but  a  bystander 
remarked  that  "  he  feared  it  would  be  no  easy  matter 


V 


THE   CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


295 


to  find  the  jail,  on  such  an  errand."  That  official  now 
returned  to  Mr.  Mackenzie,  asking  him  to  give  proof 
of  his  election.  This  having  been  done,  the  officer  of 
the  House  informed  the  Speaker,  from  whom  he  re- 
ceived orders  to  clear  the  space  below  the  bar  of 
strangers,  that  Mr.  Mackenzie  claimed  to  remain  as  a 
member.  The  Speaker  urged  the  commissioners  to 
refuse  to  administer  the  oaths,  and  afterwards  decided 
that  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  a  stranger  because  ho  had  not 
taken  them.  Mr.  McNab  (the  member)  said  that  to 
allow  Mr.  Mackenzie  to  remain  below  the  bar  would 
be  a  proof  of  pusillanimity  in  the  House,  in  issuing  an 
order  which  they  had  not  the  courage  to  enforce.  Mr. 
Burwell  said  the  scene  recalled  the  tumult  of  the 
French  National  Convention.  It  was  not  till  after  a 
long  debate,  that  the  Speaker  decided  that  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie was  a  stranger,  and  not  entitled  to  remain 
below  the  bar. 

The  hissing  that  took  place  in  the  gallery  was  un- 
justifiable ;  it  could  but  tend  to  put  a  stop  to  delibe- 
ration. Such  a  procedure  is  almost  invariably  the 
precursor  of  a  revolutionary  movement.  But  let  us 
apportion  the  degree  of  censure  due  to  the  various 
parties.  The  electors  of  York  had  been  defrauded  of 
their  elective  rights,  by  the  proceedings  of  the  House, 
some  of  which  were  clearly  unconstitutional.  The 
endurance  of  the  electors  was  well  nigh  exhausted ; 
and  while  we  cannot  justify  their  interference  with  the 
deliberations  of  the  House,  by  expressing  their  disap- 
probation in  hisses,  we  must  take  into  account  the  re- 
peated provocations  they  had  received.  The  conduct 
of  the  majority  was  revolutionary. 


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296 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


This  will  be  a  memorable  day  in  Canada.  There 
were  among  the  electors  some  who  argued  that,  if  their 
member  was  forcibly  ejected  from  the  House,  they  too 
would  be  justified  in  resorting  to  force  in  defence  of 
their  violated  rights.  They  had,  they  said  to  one  an- 
other,  some  old  rusty  muskets  which  they  might  fur- 
bish  up  for  future  use,  if  this  sort  of  thing  was  to  be 
continued.  '  <       *  '^* 

Next  day,  Mr.  Morris,  seconded  by  Mr.  Donald 
Eraser,  moved  that  Mr.  Mackenzie  having  libelled  the 
House  on  the  14th  of  December,  1831 — more  than  two 
years  before — and  made  no  reparation,  a  previous 
resolution  declaring  him  unworthy  of  a  seat  therein 
ought  to  be  adhered  to  ;  to  which  Mr.  ]\IcNab  added, 
by  way  of  amendment,  "  and  therefore  the  said  Wil- 
liam Lyon  Mackenzie,  again  elected  and  returned  to 
represent  the  county  of  York  in  this  present  Parlia- 
ment, is  hereby  expelled."*    The  resolution,  as  amend- 


:•'  ■  t 


I  I 


*  Here  is  the  official  record  :  "  Mr.  Morris,  seconded  by  Mr.  Donald  Fraser, 
moves  that  it  be  Resolved,  That  this  House  on  the  14th  day  of  December,  1831, 
in  consequence  of  a  false  and  scandalous  libel  published  against  a  majority  of 
its  members  by  William  Lyon  Mackenzie,  Esq.,  one  of  the  members  then  re- 
presenting the  county  of  York,  of  which  he  avowed  himself  the  author  and  pub- 
lisher, was  induced  to  expel  him,  the  said  William  Lyon  Mackenzie,  fromtbii 
House ;  that  notwithstanding  the  gross  and  scandalous  nature  of  the  said  libel, 
this  House,  in  the  hope  that  the  said  William  Lyon  Mackenzie  would  abstain 
from  a  continuance  of  the  off  .sive  conduct  for  which  he  had  been  expelled, 
permitted  him  to  take  his  seat  o;.  the  3rd  day  of  January  following  as  a  member 
for  the  county  of  York,  after  being  re-elected  ;  that,  in  this  hope,  so  important 
to  the  deliberate  transaction  of  public  business,  so  essential  to  the  respectability 
of  the  Legislature  and  peace  of  the  country,  a  few  days'  experience  convinced 
this  House  there  was  so  little  reason  to  rely,  that  on  the  7th  day  of  the  same 
month  of  January  it  was  by  a  large  majority  again  deemed  necessary  to  expel 
the  said  William  Lyon  Mackenzie  for  a  repetition  and  aggravated  reiteration 
of  the  aforesaid  false  and  scandalous  libel ;  and  in  doing  so,  this  House,  in 
order  to  support  the  dignity  which  ought  to  belong  to  a  Legislative  body,  con- 


THE  CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


297 


cd,  was  carried  by  a  very  narrow  majority,  the  vote 
being  twenty-two  against  eighteen.  How  a  person, 
who  was  not  a  member,  and  who  was  not  permitted 
to  take  the  oaths  or  his  seat,  or  even  to  be  heard  in  his 
defence,  could  be  expelled,  is  an  enigma  which  it  would 
have  puzzled  the  actors  in  the  affair  to  explain. 

On  the  evening  of  the  17th  December,  Mr.  Macken- 
zie addressed  a  communication  to  the  Lieutenant  Go- 
vernor, stating  what  had  occurred,  and  requesting  to 
be  permitted  to  take  the  oath  before  His  Excellency, 
according  to  a  provision  of  the  constitutional  Act ;  or 
that  some  other  prompt  and  immediate  relief  might 
be  afforded  to  him  and  his  constituents.  The  ques- 
tion was  referred  to  Attorney  General  Jameson,  who 
reported  that  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  entitled  to  take  the 
oath,  and  that  no  person  commissioned  by  the  Go- 

fidereditjust  and  proper  to  declnro  the  said  William  Lyon  Mackenzie  unfit 
and  unworthy  to  hold  a  seat  in  this  House  during  the  continuance  of  the  pre- 
sent Piirlinment ;  that  as  the  said  William  Lyon  Mackenzie  has  never  made 
reparation  to  this  House  for  the  gross  injuries  he  has  attempted  to  indict  on  its 
character  and  proceedings,  there  is  no  reason  to  depart  from  the  Resolution  of  the 
said  7th  day  of  January,  1832.  Mr.  McNab,  seconded  by  Mr.  Robinson  (bro- 
ther to  the  Chief  Justice),  moves  in  amendment,  That  the  following  words  be 
added  to  the  original  resolution,  '  and  therefore  he,  the  said  William  Lyon 
Mackenzie,  agsiin  elected  and  returned  to  represent  the  county  of  York  in  this 
present  Parliament,  is  hereby  expelled.'  Several  motions  to  adjourn  the  de- 
bate were  negatived,  the  House  refusing  to  give  Mr  Ketchum  an  opportunity 
to  reserve  his  objections  till  the  following  day,  although  it  was  then  near  eleven 
o'clock  at  night.  The  House  then  divided,  and  Mr.  Morris's  resolution,  with 
McNnVs  amendment,  was  adopted  by  the  following  vote  : 

"Yeas— Messrs.  Berczy,  Boulton,  Brown,  Burwell,  Chisholm,  Crooks,  Elliott, 
Fraser,  A.,  Fraser,  R.  D.,  Jarvis,  Jones,  McNab,  McNeillego,  Merrit,  Morris, 
Kobinson,  Samson,  Thomson,  Vunkoughnot,  Werden,  Willson,  J.,  and  Wil- 
son, W.— 22. 

"Nats— Messrs.  Bidwell,  Buell,  Campbell, Clark,  Cook,  Duncombe,  Fraser,  D. 

Hornor,  Howard,  Ketchum,  Lyon,  McDonald,  A.,  Norton,  Terry,  Randal, 

Roblin,  Shaver  and  White— 18."  '       '     .•  •    ' 

38 


', 


'<    W 


<*. 


u 


'? 


I'^ll'f.f 


'  V 

!     t 

*   SI' 


298 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


vernor  had  a  right  to  refuse,  since  his  office  was  min^ 
isterial  and  not  judicial.  The  Governor  therefore 
directed  Mr.  Beikie,  Clerk  of  the  Executive  Council 
to  administer  the  oath.  Mr.  Mackenzie  did  not  go 
before  the  commissioner,  Mr.  Beikie,  for  this  purpose 
till  the  11th  February ;  feeling  no  doubt  that,  as  the 
House  had  declared  him  expelled,  he  would  not  be 
allowed  to  take  his  seat.  He  finally  made  the  trial  at 
the  urgent  request  of  his  friends.  But  we  must  here 
pause  to  notice  some  events,  and  their  consequence, 
that  occurred  in  the  interval. 

The  majority  of  the  House  were  more  than  half 
afraid  of  the  possible  consequence  of  their  own  act. 
They  were  disturbed  by  a  rumor  that  the  Governor 
was  in  possession  of  instructions  that  would  compel 
him  to  remonstrate  with  the  House ;  and  unless  they 
changed  their  course,  to  resort  to  a  dissolution.  But 
the  Governor  was  completely  under  the  control  of  his 
irresponsible  advisers.  He  firmly  believed  that  the 
official  party  was  the  sole  depositary  of  loyalty  in  the 
Province ;  and  that  the  opposition,  whose  only  object 
had  been  the  reform  of  abuses,  wished  to  deprive 
England  of  her  remaining  American  possessions. 
The  course  he  pursued  tended  to  the  realization  of  his 
fears,  unfounded  as  they  were  when  first  entertained. 
In  reply  to  representations  made  to  him  at  a  personal  in- 
terview, by  Messrs.  Mackenzie,  Mackintosh,  Ketchum, 
and  Shepard,  the  Lieutenant  Governor,  through  Mr. 
cSecretary  Rowan,  under  date,  December  27,  1833, 
recommended  "  that  Mr.  Mackenzie  may  offer  to  make 
the  reparation  which  the  House,  by  their  late  resolu- 
tion seem  to  expect  from  him."     A  piece  of  advice 


THE  CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


299 


that  was  very  unlikely  to  bo  taken.    From  the  posi- 
tion taken  by  the  Imperial  Government,  Sir  John  Col- 
borno  felt  it  necessary  to  say,  that  on  these  questions 
of  privilege,  the  House  had  decided  "  uninfluenced  by 
the  Executive  Government ;"  an  assurance  the  value 
of  which  could  best  be  determined  by  an  observation 
of  the  course  taken  by  such  of  the  irresponsible  ad- 
visers of  the  Governor  as  had  seats  in  the  House.    In 
their  interview  with  Sir  John  Colborne,  Mr.  Macken- 
zie and  the  three  gentlemen  who  accompanied  him, 
had  complained  of  the  refusal  of  Mr.  S.  P.  Jarvis  and 
Mr.  Joseph  Fitzgibbon,  commissioners  appointed  to 
administer  the  oaths  to  members  of  the  Assembly ; 
and  along  with  Mr.  Secretary  Rowan's  letter  their 
apology  was  sent.     Mr.  Jarvis  pretended  that  he  was 
at  first  prevented  from  reporting  Mr.  Mackenzie's  re- 
turn, by  the  question  of  order  that  arose ;  and  that 
when  he  did  so,  "  the  Speaker  declined  leaving  the 
chair  till  the  question  of  order  had  terminated ;"  that 
he  "  did  not  leave  the  House  till  a  few  minutes  before 
six  o'clock,"  and  that  no  second  application  was  made 
to  him  on  the  subject.    Mr.  Mackenzie  had  been  forci- 
bly ejected  from   below   the  bar,  in  the  meantime. 
Fitzgibbon  said  he  would  have  administered  the  oath, 
if  he  had  been  asked,  before  the  expulsion  took  place. 
Petitions  breathing    defiance   began   to  reach   the 
Lieutenant  Governor.      "  Loyal   as   the    inhabitants 
of  this  country  unquestionably  are,"  said  a  petition 
from  Whitby,  "your  petitioners  will  not  disguise  from 
your  Excellency,  that  they  consider  longer  endurance 
under  their  present  oppressions,  neither  a  virtue  nor 
a  duty.    For  though  all  mankind  admit  the  claims  of 


I 


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i 


1 J 


ri 


I'll 


s  '-i 


300 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


good  government  to  the  respect  and  support  of  the 
governed,  yet  very  different  considerations  are  duo  to 
that  which  la  regardless  of  public  interests,  wars  with 
public  inclinations  and  feelings,  and  only  aids  or  con- 
nives at  oppression."  From  Newmarket  came  a  peti- 
tion praying  the  House,  since  they  would  not  allow 
the  member  so  often  elected  to  sit,  in  its  wisdom  to 
"  nominate  four  fit,  proper,  competent  and  discreet 
persons,*  to  represent  the  county  of  York,  who  may 
be  elected,  pursuant  to  your  choice,  next  general  elec- 
tion." When  Mr.  Ketchum  discovered  that  this  peti- 
tion was  a  burlesque  upon  the  House,  he  withdrew 
it.  The  Governor's  reply  to  the  deputation,  already 
noticed,  was  criticized  in  petitions  presented  to  him; 
the  electors  complained  that  laws  were  passed  without 
their  consent,  and  a  dissolution  of  the  Legislature  was 
prayed  for.  A  town  meeting,  in  King,  refused  to  ap- 
point an  assessor  and  collector  of  taxes,  on  the  ground 
that  they  had  no  right  to  pay  taxes,  when  the  As- 
sembly robbed  them  of  half  their  representation. 

Mr.  Hume,  removed  from  the  influence  of  local 
feelings  and  prejudices,  wrote  from  London  to  Mr. 
Mackenzie,  giving  his  opinion  that  the  events  of  the 
16th  and  17th  of  December — Mr.  Mackenzie's  unan- 
imous re-election  and  his  forcible  ejection  and  re-ex- 
pulsion— would  hasten  the  crisis  that  would  terminate 
in  the  independence  of  Canada.f    But  he  was  smart- 

*  An  act  had  been  passed  dividing  the  county  of  York  into  four  Hidings, 
each  of  which  was,  at  the  next  general  election,  to  send  a  member.    ,     >? 

f  This  letter  is  dated  •'  Bryanston  Square,  29th  of  March,  1834,"  nnd  con- 
tains some  very  strong  language,  "  Your  triumphant  election,"  Mr.  Hume 
Bays,  "on  the  16th,  and  ejection  from  the  Assembly  on  the  17th,  must  hasten 
the  crisis  which  is  fast  approaching  in  the  afTuirs  of  Canada,  and  which  vill 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLIOIC. 


301 


ing  uiKler  a  sense  of  injury,  in  consequence  of  some 
attack  made  upon  him  by  the  Rev.  Egert  m  Ryeraun  ; 

turminiUe  in  independence  and  freedom  from  tho  baneful  domination  of  the 
niotlipr  country,  and  tho  tyrannical  conduct  of  a  imall  and  deapicablo  factioa 
in  the  colony."  "I  confidently  trust,"  he  added,  "that  tho  high-minded  peo- 
ple ot  Cunitdu  will  not,  in  these  days,  be  overawed  or  cheated  of  their  right! 
and  lil)orti(!s  by  such  men  as  Mr.  Stanley  and  tho  Colonial  compact.  Your 
mm<)  is  iMr  cause ;  your  defeat  would  be  tfuir  subjugation.  Go  on,  therefore, 
I  beseech  you,  and  success — glorious  success — must  crown  your  Joint  efforts." 
The  subject  of  this  letter  was  brought  up  in  the  City  Council  of  Toronto,  (Inte 
Yurii,)  whun  Dr.  Morrison  moved  an  amendment  to  a  resolution  proposed  by 
Alderman  Dennison:  **That  Mr.  Hume  Justly  regards  such  conduct  [the 
repented  expulsions  of  Mr.  Mackenzie  from  the  House]  on  the  part  of  tho 
Legislature,  countenanced  as  it  was  by  tho  Crown  officers,  and  other  Execu- 
tive functionaries  in  tho  Assembly,  and  unredressed  by  the  Royal  prerogative, 
as  evidence  of  baneful  and  tyrannical  domination,  in  which  conduct  it  is  both 
puinful  and  injurious  to  find  tho  Provincial  officials  systematically  upheld  by 
the  minister  nt  homo  against  tho  people."  Mr.  Hume  accepted  this  as  the 
true  explanation  of  his  views.  Proceeding  to  another  topic,  Mr.  Hume  said : 
"I  have  lately  seen,  with  mingled  feelings  of  pity  and  contempt,  the  attacks 
made  by  Mr.  [Rev.  Egcrton]  Ryorson  against  my  public  and  private  conduct." 
"I  never,"  ho  said,  "knew  a  more  worthless  hypocrite  or  so  base  a  man  as 
Mr.  Ryorson  has  proved  himself  to  be.  I  feel  pity  for  him,  for  the  sake  of  our 
common  nature,  to  think  that  such  human  depravity  should  exist  in  an  en- 
lightened society ;  and  I  fear  the  pangs  of  a  guilty  and  self-condemning  con- 
science must  make  his  venal  and  corrupt  breast  a  second  hell,  and  ere  long 
render  his  existence  truly  miserable."  Mr.  Hume  must  have  been  severely 
stung  by  tho  attacks  made  upon  him  or  ho  could  not  have  brought  himself  to 
employ  such  terms  of  censure  as  these.  Mr.  Hume  felt  the  more  hurt  bocanse 
ho  snid  ho  had  paid  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  Mr.  Ryerson  when  the  latter 
was  in  England  ;  regarding  him  as  the  "  representative  of  a  good  cause  and  a 
distant  people,"  who  were  much  in  need  of  some  influence  being  exerted  in 
their  favor  in  London.  After  this  letter  had  been  made  a  subject  of  discussion 
in  tho  City  Council,  Mr  Hume  wrote  another  letter  to  Mr.  Mackenzie,  bearing 
date  14th  of  June,  1884,  in  which  he  says  of  tho  oligarchical  system  that  then 
existed  in  Upper  Canada:  "To  submit  quietly  to  such  domination  would  be 
an  acknowledgment  of  servitude  of  the  most  odious  nature,  as  unworthy  of 
the  people  of  Canada,  as  disgraceful  and  injurious  to  Great  Britain."  Con- 
gratulating Mr.  Mackenzie  on  his  election  as  first  Mayor  of  Toronto,  he  said : 
"  It  is  cheering  to  see  the  five  times  rejected  by  the  selfish  faction,  elected  tho 
first  Justice  of  the  Peace  by  the  people,  and  placed  in  the  post  of  authority 
and  honor." 


V    I 


i    I 


^||]I 
1'lf^'' 


302 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


and  his  letter  is  at  once  intemperate  and  indiscreet  *  In 
speaking  of  the  "  baneful  domination"  of  the  mother 
country  as  a  thing  for  Canada  to  rid  itself  of  as  soon 
as  possible,  he  failed  to  make  the  proper  distinction 
between  the  Colonial  Oligarchy  and  the  Imperial  Gov- 
ernment ;  though  the  latter,  with  every  desire  to  do 
justice,  upheld  a  false  system,  and  was  not  unfrequent- 
ly  misled  by  the  prejudiced  and  interested  statements 
of  the  knot  of  permanent  and  irresponsible  officials  by 
whom  the  Lieutenant  Governor  was  surrounded. 

The  Methodist  Conference,  probably  moved  by  Mr. 
Hume's  attack  on  Mr.  Ryerson,  on  the  20th  of  June, 
1834,  while  in  session  at  Kingston,  unanimously 
adopted  an  address  to  Sir  John  Colborne,  in  which 
they  "  disclaim,  with  strong  feelings  of  indignation,  the 
recent  avowal  of  revolutionary  principles  and  pur- 
poses."-}- 

*  Tho  language  at  which  Mr.  Humo  took  offence  stated  that  he  had  "no  in- 
lluenco  ns  a  religious  man ;  1ms  never  been  known  to  promote  any  religious 
measure,  or  object,  ns  such,  and  has  opposed  every  measure  for  the  better  ob- 
servance of  tho  Sabbath,  and  even  introduced  a  motion  to  defeat  the  bill  for 
the  abolition  of  Colonial  slavery." 

t  This  address  was  signed  by  Gordon  Grindrod,  President,  and  James  Rich- 
ardson, 8ucrotary.  In  September,  1831,  Lieutenant  Governor  Maitiand  had 
replied  in  the  most  ofiensivo  terms  to  nn  address  of  this  same  body  of  Metho- 
dists, lie  told  them  that  their  preacliers,  whether  from  tho  United  States  or 
any  other  foreign  country,  would,  "while  they  act  hontttly,  and  respect  British 
institutions,"  enjoy  the  same  protection  as  other  Americans  who  had  sought  an 
asylum  in  the  country.  "But,"  he  added,  "you  will  readily  admit,  that  the 
sober-minded  of  the  Province  are  disgusted  with  the  accounts  of  tho  disgrace- 
ful di.«s(m8ions  of  the  Episcopal  Methodist  Church  and  its  separatists,  recrimi- 
nating inomorinls,  and  tho  warfare  of  one  church  upon  another."  With  regard 
to  tho  system  of  public  education,  of  which  tho  Methodists  had  complained, 
Sir  John  told  them  that  it  "  would  not  bo  abandoned  to  suit  the  limited  views 
of  leaders  of  societies,  who  perhaps  have  neither  experience  nor  judgment  to 
appreciate  the  value  or  advantages  of  a  liberal  education." 


THE   CANADIAN    KP:BELLI0N. 


303 


The  Colonial  oligarchs,  and  their  supporters  in  the 
Assembly,  were  just  as  ready  to  complain  of  the  domi- 
nation exercised  by  Downing  Street  over  the  local  affairs 
of  the  Province  as  Mr.  Hume  himself,  when  their 
interests  were  interfered  with.  The  disallowance  of 
the  bank  charter  acts,  to  which  reference  had  already 
been  made,  almost  created  a  rebellion  among  the 
Tories  of  Upper  Canada.  In  March,  1834,  the  House 
of  Assembly  passed  an  address  to  the  King,  protesting, 
in  the  most  energetic  terms,  against  the  exercise  of  the 
Royal  veto*  in  this  case,-  laying  down  the  general 

»Tho  following,  which  contains  the  substapce  of  the  address,  will  suffi- 
ciently show  its  spirit: — "  We,  Your  Majesty's  most  dutiful  and  loyal  subjects, 
the  Commons  House  of  Assembly  of  Upper  Oanada  in  Provincial  Parliament 
Rssembled,  in  full  assurance  of  Your  Majesty's  earnest  desire  to  promote  the 
welfare  of  your  people,  beg  leave  humbly  to  address  ourselves  to  Your  Majesty 
upon  a  matter  of  the  deepest  interest  to  your  faithful  subjects  in  this  Province. 
♦  •  *  We  humbly  represent,  that,  although  the  disallowance  of  these  acts 
may  appear  to  be  authorized  by  the  letter  of  the  statute  of  the  British  Parlia- 
ment, *  *  »  yet  it  is  contrary  to  its  spirit  and  meaning,  and  to  the  principles 
of  a  free  government.  We  believe  that  this  provision  was  made  to  remedy 
the  evil  which  might  bo  occasioned  by  the  Royal  assent  being  given  in  the  Co- 
lony to  a  Provincial  Act  that  should  be  found  incompatible  with  the  rights  and 
interests  of  other  portions  of  the  Empire,  but  we  cannot  think  it  was  intended 
to  give  a  power  of  interference  with  our  internal  affairs.  Against  such  an  in- 
terference wo  respectfully,  but  plainly  and  solemnly  protest,  as  inconsistent 
with  those  sacred  constitutional  principles  which  are  essential  to  a  free  govern- 
ment; since  it  is  manifest,  that  if  Your  Majesty's  ministers,  at  a  distance  of 
more  than  four  thousand  miles,  and  not  at  all  controllable  by,  or  accountable 
to,  Your  Majesty's  subjects  here,  and  possessing  necessarily  a  slight  and  imper- 
fect knowledge  of  the  circumstances  of  this  country,  the  want^,  and  habits,  and 
feelings  of  the  inhabitants,  and  the  mode  of  transacting  business  among  us,  can 
dictate  a  dift'orent  course,  in  relation  to  measures  affecting  ourselves  only,  from 
that  which  the  people  by  their  representatives,  and  with  the  concurrence  of  the 
other  branches  of  the  Provincial  Legislature,  have  chosen,  we  are  reduced  to 
a  state  of  mere  dependence  upon  the  will  and  pleasure  of  a  ministry  that  are 
irresponsible  to  us,  and  beyond  the  reach  and  operation  of  the  public  opinion  of 
the  Province ;  and  no  one  can  rely  upon  our  Provincial  laws,  although  they  may 
be  constitutionally  and  deliberately  formed,  but  the  most  unhappy  uncertainty 


1  uA  ', 


"A 


t^i: 


P- 


304 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


principle  that,  in  all  local  affairs,  the  Provincial  Legig. 
lature  ought  to  be  supreme.  To  have  extorted  assent 
to  such  a  declaration  from  a  section  of  the  Tories,*  was 
no  small  gain.  There  seems  to  be  no  question  that 
they  did  not  comprehend  the  full  force  of  a  declaration 
that  was  to  make  the  Legislature  supreme  in  local 
matters.  The  truth  is,  the  popular  branch  of  the  Le- 
gislature was  a  complete  nullity.  It  had  no  control 
over  the  Executive  Council ;  and  the  second  Chamber 
constantly  interposed  between  the  representatives  of 
the  people  and  the  Family  Compact  of  officials,  to 

and  want  of  confidence  will  pfevail  and  extend  their  disastrous  influence  over 
all  our  business  transactions.  We  respectfully  claim  the  same  right,  in  be- 
half of  Your  Majesty's  subjects  in  this  Province,  to  be  consulted  in  the  mak- 
ing of  laws  for  their  peace,  welfare,  and  good  government,  which  our  fellow 
subjects  in  Great  Britain  enjoy,  in  respect  to  laws  to  which  their  obedience  is 
required ;  and  although,  from  the  necessity  of  the  case,  power  must  be  granted 
to  the  Head  of  the  Empire  of  preventing  Colonial  laws  being  adopted  and  en- 
forced which  are  incompatible  with  treaties  between  Your  Majesty's  Govern- 
ment and  foreign  States,  or  with  the  just  rights  of  any  other  of  Your  Majesty's 
Colonies ;  yet,  with  these  exceptions,  we  humbly  submit  that  no  laws  ought  to 
be,  or  rightfully  can  be,  dictated  to,  or  imposed  upon,  the  people  of  this  Pro- 
vince, to  which  they  do  not  freely  give  their  consent,  through  the  constitu- 
tional medium  of  representatives  chosen  by  and  accountable  to  tbemseives. 
The  force  of  our  humble  and  dutiful  remonstrance  against  the  principle  of  an 
interference  of  Your  Majesty's  ministers  with  our  internal  aflTairs,  wo  are  rot 
willing  to  diminish,  by  insisting  upon  the  inconveniences  and  evils  likely  to 
follow  from  the  exercise  of  power  which,  «&c.     *    •    * 

"We,  therefore,  respectfully  and  humbly  pray  that  Your  Majesty,  taking 
these  matters  into  your  favorable  consideration,  will  be  graciously  pleased  not 
to  disallow  these  Pi'ovincial  Acts,  and  not  to  permit  Your  Majesty's  ministers 
to  interfere  with  (uir  internal  affairs ;  but  to  leave  the  same  entirely  to  the  dis- 
cretion and  control  of  the  Legislature  of  this  Province." 

*  In  a  House  of  thirty  members,  six  voted  against  that  part  of  the  Address 
given  in  the  previous  note,  five  of  whom  were  Tories.  It  was  moved  by  Mr, 
Bidwell,  and  seconded  by  Mr.  Perry,  in  the  shape  of  an  amendment  to  another 
address  that  had  been  proposed.  Nine  Tories  voted  for  the  amendment;  and 
thus  aiBrmed  principles  mainly  sound  in  themselves,  but  with  which  the  whole 
practice  of  their  lives  was  in  contradiction. 


'M\i 


'-tl 


THE  CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


305 


whose  recommendations  its  members  owed  their  Le- 
gislative position.  The  Tories  in  the  House  went  the 
length  of  complaining  of  the  interference  of  the  minis- 
try, in  England,  with  its  resolves,  on  the  ground  that 
it  was  not  responsible  to  that  Chamber ;  though  they 
steadfastly  supported  a  local  ministry  that  could,  at 
any  time,  set  the  Assembly  at  defiance,  with  impunity. 
Without  intending  it,  the  upholders  of  the  oligarchy 
proved  the  necessity  of  having  a  responsible  govern- 
ment in  the  Province. 

The  House,  as  we  have  seen,  passed  a  resolution 
expelling  Mr.  Mackenzie,  on  the  17th  of  December, 
1833.  On  the  11th  of  February,  no  new  writ  had  been 
issued  for  a  new  election ;  and  Mr.  Mackenzie,  at  the 
request  of  his  friends,  went  before  the  Clerk  of  the 
Executive  Council  and  took  the  oath  prescribed  fop 
members  of  the  Legislature.  The  Clerk  acted  on  the 
authority  of  the  Governor's  instructions,  backed  by 
the  opinion  of  Attorney  General  Jameson.  At  three 
o'clock  on  the  same  day,  Mr.  Mackenzie  walked 
into  the  House  of  Assembly,  and  took  his  seat  among 
the  members.  The  House  was  in  Committee  of  the 
whole,  Mr.  Donald  Macdonald  in  the  Chair.  He  had 
not  been  long  there  when  he  received  a  visit  from  Mr. 
McNab,  Sergeant-at-arms,  who  informed  him  that  he 
was  a  stranger,  and  must  retire.  Mr.  Mackenzie  re- 
plied that  he?  was  a  member  of  the  House,  legally 
elected  and  duly  sworn ;  and  he  produced  an  attested 
copy  of  the  oath.  He  was,  he  said,  charged  with  no 
offence  or  irregularity  that  could  disqualify  him  for 
sitting  and  voting.  Before  going  to  the  House,  he 
had  given  public  notice  that  he  should  not  leave  his 


39 


'  If 


!  ' 


»t 


;!■ 


■I  1 


I!  , 


4 


306 


LIFE   OF    MACKENZIE,  AND 


.  i     * 


w ; 


seat  unless  violence  were  used ;  and  he  now  told  the 
Sergeant-at-arms  that,  if  he  interfered,  it  would  be  at 
his  peril.     This  officer  replied  that  he  must  use  force. 
Mr.  Mackenzie  was  three  times  forcibly  taken  from 
his  seat ;  and  when  he  appealed  to  the  Speaker  for 
j)rc)tection,  that  functionary  replied  that  it  was  not 
possible  for  the  Sergeant-at-arms  to  have  mistaken  his 
duty.     Mr.  McNab,  the  member,  said  he  was  ready  to 
vote  to  send  Mr.  Mackenzie  to  jail.     Mr.  Merritt,  in 
a  passion,  said  he  ought  to  be  put  out  of  the  House, 
and  two  men  stationed  at  the  door  to  prevent  his  re- 
turn.    A  resolution  in  favor  of  his  taking  his  seat  was 
lost  on  a  vote  of  twenty-one   against  fifteen.     Mr. 
McNab  attacked  the  Lieutenant  Governor  for  having 
instructed  the  Clerk  of  the  Executive  Council  to  ad- 
minister the  oath  to  Mr.  Mackenzie;  K;aying  he  "had 
interfered  very  improj^erly,  and  in  a  manner  no  way 
creditable  to  himself;  and  that  he  might  find,  like  the 
Vicar  of  Bray,  by  taking  both  sides  of  the  question, 
he  might  fall  through  between."     Mr.  W.  Kobinson 
said   Mr.   Mackenzie  would   not   have  gone  to  the 
House,  if  he  had  not  had  the  Governor's  sanction  in 
his  pocket ;  and  that  the  conduct  of  the  head  of  the 
government  was  entirely  unjustifiable. 

While  these  proceedings  were  going  on,  there  was 
a  dense  crowd  in  the  gallery,  whose  general  conduct 
was  orderly  and  decorous ;  Mr.  Mackenzie  having 
previously  cautioned  them  to  remain  "  quiet  and  pas- 
sive spectators."  Once  there  was  a  hiss  from  the  gal- 
lery. It  was  in  response  to  a  remark  of  Mr.  Robin- 
son that  Mr.  Mackenzie  ought  to  be  punished  with 
imprisonment  and  without  being  heard  in  his  defence. 


I'.ii 


THE   CANADIAN    REBELLION. 


307 


In  giving  his  reasons  for  again  making  an  attempt  to 
take  his  seat,  Mr.  Mackenzie  says  he  did  so  because 
he  believed  it  to  be  his  duty.  In  reference  to  the 
threats  of  imprisonment,  he  said:  "I  greatly  desire 
personal  liberty ;  but  the  fear  of  a  prison,  or  of  poverty, 
or  of  danger  to  life  or  limb,  will  not,  I  trust,  make  a 
coward  of  me  in  a  good  cause."   ■'"■■'""'  ^  ... 

A  few  days  after  these  arbitrary  proceedings,  on  the 
part  of  the  majority  of  the  House,  had  taken  place, 
Mr.  Duncombe  made  a  motion  which  was  intended  to 
bring  about  a  new  election  for  the  county  of  York,  by 
a  side  wind.  Mr.  Mackenzie's  friends  did  not  admit 
that  his  seat  was  legally  vacant;  and  therefore  they 
coukl  not  vote  for  the  issuing  of  a  writ  for  a  new 
election.  Mr.  Buncombe's  resolu^^ion  instructed  the 
Speaker  to  take  the  necessary  steps  to  have  any 
vacancy  in  the  House  forthwith  supplied ;  but  it  was 
rejected,  as  w^as  also  a  motion  proposed  by  Mr. 
McXab  for  issuing  a  writ  for  the  election  of  a  member 
for  York,  in  the  place  of  Mr.  Mackenzie  expelled.* 

*The  vote  for  tlio  issue  of  a  writ  for  a  new  election  would  have  been  to  as- 
sume that  the  expulsion  had  been  legal,  and  had  created  a  vacany.  A  case  in 
point  occarred  about  this  time,  in  Lower  Canada.  The  Lower  Canada  House 
of  Assembly  had  assumed  to  disqualify  Mr.  Mondelet  by  resolution,  on  the 
occasion  of  liis  having  taken  office.  The  (70vernor-in-Chief,  Lord  Aylmer, 
refused  to  affix  his  name  to  a  new  writ  for  the  election  of  a  member  for  the 
county  of  Montreal,  in  the  place  of  Mr.  Mondelet.  Mr.  Stanley  in  a  dispatch, 
communicated  to  the  House  on  the  13th  of  January,  1834,  expresses  his  entire 
apiiroval  of  the  conduct  of  the  Governor.  In  that  dispatch,  the  Colonial  Se- 
cretary said  the  House  of  Commons,  by  their  knowledge  of  the  British  consti- 
tution, and  of  what  was  due  to  the  privileges  of  the  other  branch  of  the  Legis- 
lature, had  been  preserved  "from  the  fatal  error  of  arrogating  to  themselve8 
ttie  monstrous  right  of  giving  to  their  resolutions  the  force  of  law."  He  added 
that  the  House  of  Commons  "neither  possesses,  nor  has  ever  claimed  to  pos- 
sess, any  right,  authority,  or  power  without  the  consent  of  the  Crown  and  the 


h 


[\} 


: 


km 

kmm 

mm 


f    T 


:. ':  S: 


308 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,    AND 


.:!•:.    !■ 


To  have  ordered  a  new  election  would  only  have  been 
to  prepare  the  way  for  a  fresh  outrage  in  the  shape  of 
another  expulsion.  One  result  of  these  various  pro- 
ceedings  against  Mr.  Mackenzie,  was  to  deprive  the 
county  of  York  of  one  of  its  two  members,  during  the 
term  of  nearly  a  whole  Parliament. 

Though  some  of  the  actors  in  this  drama  are  still 
living,  we  are  sufficiently  removed  from  the  time  in 
which  the  events  occurred,  to  be  able  to  take  a  view  of 
them  unclouded  by  passion  or  prejudice.  The  recital 
of  the  facts  will  often  create  a  feeling  of  honest  indig- 
nation ;  but  this  feeling  will  be  quite  as  strong  in  the 
mind  of  the  reader  fifty  years  hence.  A  brief  review 
of  the  whole  proceedings  will  give  the  best  idea  of  the 
spirit  in  which  they  were  conducted.  At  first,  an  at- 
tempt was  made  to  expel  the  obnoxious  member,  be- 
cause he  had,  at  his  own  cost,  distributed  copies  of  the 
Journals  of  the  House,  without  note  or  comment,  un- 
accompanied by  the  appendix.  A  majority  was 
ashamed  to  act  upon  so  flimsy  a  pretext ;  but  one  ob- 
ject was  gained :  Mr.  Mackenzie  did  not  again  tender 
for  the  printing  of  the  Journals,  and  the  work  was  a 
godsend  to  the  partisans  of  the  government.  Next,  a 
pretended  libel,  published  in  a  newspaper,  was  made 
a  ground  of  expulsion,  and  acted  upon.  Neither  of 
the  articles  complained  of  was  half  so  severe  as  art!- 

House  of  Peers,  to  make  laws  relating  either  to  the  qualification  or  disqualifi- 
cation of  electors  or  candidates,  or  rather  to  effect  their  object  by  resolutions 
only."  And  should  the  bpeaker  be  called  upon,  in  the  exercise  of  his  minis- 
terial capacity,  to  issue  a  warrant  for  a  now  election,  "in  consequence  of  a 
member  being  unseated  by  an  illegal  resolution,  the  duty  would  devolve  upon 
the  Lord  Chancellor  to  take  notice  of  the  cause  of  vacancy,  as  recited  in  the 
warrant,  and  on  the  ground  of  illegality  to  refuse  to  affix  the  great  seal  to  the 
new  writ." 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


309 


e  been 
lape  of 
13  pro- 
ive  the 
ing  the 

are  still 
time  in 
view  of 
)  recital 
}t  indig- 
g  in  the 
[  review 
ea  of  the 
it,  an  at- 
pber,  be- 
es of  the 
»ent,  un- 
ity was 
one  oh- 
n  tender 
t  was  a 
Next,  a 
as  made 
dther  of 
as  arti- 

r  disqualifl- 
resolutions 
)f  his  minis- 
jquence  of  a 
[evolve  upon 
icited  in  the 
t  seal  to  the 


cles  that  are  now  daily  published  without  exciting  at- 
tention.   Then  a  new  libel  was  discovered,  and  made 
the  cause  of  a  second  expulsion.     This  time  the  House 
stretched  the  power  of  privilege  to  the  monstrous  ex- 
tent of  creating  a  disqualification  unknown  to  the  law. 
The  third  time,  the  House  contented  itself  with  giving 
force  to  this  declared  disability.     Next  time,  a  unani- 
mous re-election  was  declared  to  be  no  election  at  all ; 
though  the  Returning  Officer  had  returned  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie as  duly  elected,  and  no  candidate  had  appeared 
to  oppose  him.     The  fifth  time,  he  was  declared  ex- 
pelled, though  not  allowed  by  the  House  to  take  the 
oaths  or  his  seat;  and  the  same  majority  that  now  ex- 
pelled him  had  declared,  a  short  time  before,  that  he 
was  not  and  could  not  be  elected;  they  having  as- 
sumed that  he  was  incapable  of  being  elected  during 
that  Pai'liament.     This  last  time  he  was,  at  first,  for- 
cibly ejected  from  the  space  below  the  bar,  on  a  motion 
to  clear  the  House  of  strangers  ;  because  not  having 
taken  the  oaths,  which  the  Speaker  urged  the  commis- 
sioners not  to  administer,  he  must  be  treated  as  a 
stranger ;  and  then,  after  he  had  taken  the  oath,  be- 
fore a  commissioner,   instructed   by  the   Lieutenant 
Governor,  on  the  advice  of  the  Attorney  General,  to 
administer  it,  he  was  again  forcibly  dragged  from  his 
seat  by  the  Sergeant-at-arms,  condemned  to   silence 
under  the  outrage,  and  threatened  with  imprisonment. 
J::j  frequency  and  the  facility  with  which  the  majority 
shifted  their  ground,  showed  that  all  they  wanted  was 
a  colorable  pretext  for.  carrying  out  a  foregone  conclu- 
sion, to  rid  themselves  of  the  presence  of  an  opponent 
who  gave  them  so  much  trouble. 


hi 


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^•1 


310. 


LIFE    OF    MACKENZIE,   AND 


As  in  the  case  of  Wilkes,  who  was  expelled  from 
the  House  of  Commons,  the  whole  of  the  proceed- 
ings rcltiting  to  these  expulsions,  were  expunged  from 
the  Journals  of  the  Assembly ;  being  declared  sub- 
versive of  the  rights  of  the  whole  body  of  electors  of 
Upper  Canada.*    This  was  done  in  the  first  session 

*  Here  is  the  resolution :  "  Mr.  Mackenzie,  seconded  by  Mr.  Mcintosh, 
moves,  That  it  be  resolved,  thnt  ull  the  decliirntions,  orders,  and  resolutions  of 
this  House,  respecting  the  several  elections  of  William  Lyon  Mackenzie,  Esq,, 
into  Parliament  for  the  county  of  York,  us  void  elections,  and  the  incapacity 
of  William  Lyon  Mackenzie,  Esq.,  to  serve  in  the  said  Parliament,  and  for 
his  expulsions  therefrom,  and  disqualification  by  the  mere  force  of  a  former 
vote  or  votes  of  expulsion,  as  also  all  orders,  declarations,  and  resolutions,  de- 
nying that  the  elections  of  William  Lyon  Mackenzie,  Esq.,  were  good,  true, 
and  valid,  or  aiflrmiiig  that  the  House  having  expelled  and  declared  him  unfit 
and  unworthy  to  tnko  a  seat  therein  during  the  said  Parliament,  and  thnt  being 
convinced  of  the  propriety  of  such  expulsion  and  declaration,  would  not  allow 
hiin  to  sit  and  vote,  be  expunged  from  the  Journals  of  this  House,  as  being 
subversive  of  the  rights  of  the  whole  bodj'  of  electors  of  this  Province.  Which 
was  carried  on  a  vote  of  twenty-eight  against  seven." 

Mr.  Mackenzie  was  not  the  first  member  of  the  Upper  Canada  AssemMy 
who  had  been  expelled  for  broach  of  privilege  consisting  of  alleged  libel.  On 
the  4th  of  March,  1817,  Mr.  Durand,  member  for  Wentworth,  was  declared 
guilty  of  a  false,  scandalous,  and  malicious  libel,  and  ordered  to  be  sent  to  the 
York  jail  during  the  session.  Having  placed  himself  out  of  the  reach  of  the 
oflicer  of  that  House;  and  for  this  "  high  contempt"  of  the  authority  of  the 
House,  and  "  flagrant  breach  "  of  its  privileges,  he  was  expelled.  The  libel 
Rrose  out  of  an  irregular  suspension  of  the  Habeas  Corpus  Act,  by  Sir  Gordon 
Drummond,  administrator  of  the  Government  of  Upper  Canada,  during  the 
latter  part  of  the  war  of  1812.  This  act  had  been  suspended  during  tho  former 
part  of  the  war  ;  and  the  House  having  refused  to  renew  the  suspension,  Sir 
Gordon  Drummond  took  it  upon  himself  to  declare  the  suspension  by  procla- 
mation. In  a  newspaper  called  the  St.  David's  Spectator,  Mr.  Durand  alleged 
that  great  atrocities  had  been  committed  both  by  the  regular  troops  and  the 
militia,  at  the  time  when  the  administrator  of  tho  government  assumed  theei- 
ercise  of  a  disputed  power.  The  Assembly,  in  1815,  asked  Sir  Gordon  Drum- 
mond for  any  papers  he  might  have  explaining  the  act ;  when  he  replied,  in  a 
style  too  much  in  fashion  in  those  days  among  persons  having  authority  in 
Colonial  governments :  "All  measures  of  that  nature  were  adopted  by  me,  as 
commanding  His  Majesty's  forces,  and  resulted  from  tho  exercise  of  my  dis- 
cretion."   Mr.  Durand's  libel  on  the  House  appears  to  have  consisted  of  a 


A 


THE  CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


311 


of  the  next  Provincial  Parliament,  on  the  16th  of 
July.  1835.  Mr.  McXab  voted  to  expunge  his  own 
resolutions,  and  frankly  admitted  that  the  House  was 
wrong  in  grounding  its  third  expulsion  on  the,  fact  of 
the  second.  He  had  copied  the  formula  of  the  reso- 
lution, on  that  occasion,  from  one  framed  for  the  case 
of  Mr.  Christie,fromthe  Journals  of  the  Lower  Canada 
Assembly.  Among  Mr.  Mackenzie's  notes  I  find  a 
statement  that  Mr.  Hagerman  confessed,  on  this  oc- 
Ccasion,  that  he  had,  from  the  first,  thought  the  whole 
of  these  expulsions  inexpedient ;  but  that,  having  been 
overruled  by  those  with  whom  he  acted,  he  had  pub- 
licly supported  them.  But  I  find  nothing  of  the  kind 
in  Mr.  Hagerman's  published  speech.  He  did  not 
defend  the  expulsions,  it  is  true  ;  he  declared  he  would 
not  stoop  to  inquire  whether  this  act  was  right  or 
wrong;  it  was  sufficient  for  him  that  the  House  had 
done  it.  He  objected  to  one  Assembly,  acting  judi- 
cially, reversing  the  decision  of  a  previous  Assembly. 
From  first  to  last,  the  proceedings  against  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie were  conceived  in  a  party  spirit,  and  carried  by 
party  votes.  No  worse  description  or  condemnation 
of  them  could  be  given  ;  seeing  that  they  were  in  their 
nature  judicial,    ....  ■,  i.   ,  > ,.,. . 

statement  of  the  alleged  condition  of  things  in  the  House,  when  the  renewal 
of  the  Habeas  Corpus  suspongipn  was  proposed.  "  The  House  at  this  time,"  he 
said,  "  seemed  agitated  by  prospects  before  them  according  to  their  various 
feelings — the  tide  of  temptation,  at  this  crisis,  ran  high — the  terjrprs  of  the 
bill  were  on  one  hand,  good  contracts  were  on  the  other ;  and  of  course  the 
man  who  opposed  the  President's  will  was  for  ever  shut  out."  ,.,:.■.■■:'•■ 


\[ 


i:      i 


1  I 


»  -  "  1  t 


312 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


•  t 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

Yorlt  cliungod  to  Toronto — Was  it  the  Site  of  the  Indian  Toronto?— Mr.  Mnc- 
konzio  elected  First  Mayor  of  the  City — Mayor  and  Corporation  borrow 
£1000  for  Municipal  Purposes  on  their  Individual  Responsibility — 3rf.  in  the 
£1  considered  a  monstrously  oppressive  Tax — Public  Meeting  culled  by  the 
Mayor  to  justify  the  Sd.  Tax — Is  adjourned  and  a  Frightful  Accident  oc- 
curs by  the  giving  way  of  a  Balcony — The  Cholera  of  1834 — How  the  Mayor 
braved  Disease  and  Death — Is  attacked  with  Cholera — Formation  of  the 
Canadian  Alliance  Society — Loss  of  his  Infant  Son — Resolution  to  abandon 
the  Press — Mackenzie  as  a  Journalist. 

On  the  6th  March,  1834,  the  town  of  York  had  its 
limits  extended,  and  it  was  erected  into  an  inc.vpo. 
rated  city,  under  the  name  of  Toronto.*    On  the  15th 

•  Toronto  is  an  Indian  name,  but  that  the  Indians  gave  that  name  to  the 
place  now  called  Toronto  is  more  than  doubtful.  All  the  evidence  I  have  seen 
is  against  the  supposition.  Upon  the  early  French  maps  the  present  site  of 
Toronto  was  designated  Teiaigon  or  Teiaiagon.  In  a  Carte  du  Canada  oudela 
Nouvelle  France,  by  Del  Isle,  of  the  French  Academy  of  Sciences,  and  first  Geo- 
grapher of  the  King,  published  at  Paris,  in  1803,  it  is  called  Teiuiiigon.  In 
the  Carte  Generale  du  Canada,  of  Baron  Lahonton,  in  his  Nouveau  Voyage  dm 
L'Amerique  Septentrionale,  written  at  different  times  from  1683  to  1692,  and  pub- 
lished at  the  Hague,  Penetanguishine  Buy  [mouth  of  the  Severn]  is  set  down  as 
£ai/e  de  Toronto ;  and  in  another  work,  Memoirea  de  L'Amerique  Septentrionale, 
the  same  traveller  says  of  Lake  Huron  :  "  On  voit  au  nord-est  de  cette  Riviere 
la  Baye  de  Toronto  qui  a  vingt  ou  vingt  cinq  lieutss  de  longueur  et  quinze 
d'ouvcrture,  il  se  ddcharge  une  Riviere  que  sort  du  petit  lac  du  ineme  nom, 
[Luke  Simcoe,]  formant  plusieurs  cataractes  impracticables,  tout  en  descendant 
qu'  en  montant.  De  sa  source  on  peut  aller  dans  le  lac  de  Frontenac  [Ontario] 
en  fuisant  un  portage  jusqu'a  la  Riviere  de  Tonaouat6  [the  Don  at  the  present 
citj'  of  Toronto]  quo  s'y  ddcharge.  Vous  pouvez  remnrquor  au  cotd  Meridioniil 
de  la  Baye  de  Toronto  le  Fort  supposd,  dont  je  vous  a  fait  mention  dans  ma 


THE  CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


313 


March,  a  proclamation  was  issued  calling  an  election 
of  AUltTinen  and  Common  Councilmen,  for  the  27th 
of  that  month.  The  Reformers  in  the  new  city  were 
opposed  to  the  act  of  incorporation  on  the  ground  of 
expense,  because  the  assessment  law  was  deemed  ob- 
jectionable, and  Mr.  Mackenzie  expressed  the  opinion 
that  it  would  not  work  well.  The  Reformers  resolved, 
however,  to  profit  by  the  circumstance,  and  having 
carried  the  elections,  they  selected  Mr.  Mackenzie  for 
Mavor:  the  first  Mayor  not  only  of  Toronto  but  in 
tiie  Province.  The  event  was  looked  upon  as  possess- 
\r[(^  some  political  significance,  for  Toronto  was  the 
seat  of  government  and  the  headquarters  of  the  Fa- 
mily Compact.  And,  as  the  sequel  proved,  it  was  pro- 
phetic of  the  result  of  the  next  Parliamentary  elec- 
tion in  the  city. 

Mr.  Mackenzie  gave  his  time  gratuitously  to  the 
interests  of  the  city;  and  discharged  the  duties  of 
Mayor  with  the  same  vigor  that  he  carried  into  every 
thing  he  undertook.  Every  thing  had  to  be  done. 
The  whole  frame- work  of  municipal  government  had 
to  be  constructed  and  set  in  motion.  There  was  not  a 
side-walk  in  the  city ;  and  those  of  planks  were  intro- 
duced by  the  first  corporation.  The  city  finances  were 
in  a  condition  that  much  increased  the  difficulty  of  the 
task.    The  value  of  all  the  rateable  property  in  the 

vingt  troisiemo  lettre."  The  English  pronunciation  of  the  name  of  the  Don 
River  at  Toronto  would  bo  something  like  Tonawatah,  from  which  Toronto 
could  not  have  come  as  a  corruption.  Nor  is  it  necessary  to  resort  to  any  such 
hypothesis,  since  Toronto  is  certainly  an  Indian  name.  It  is  clear  enough, 
from  (ill  the  evidence,  that  the  site  of  the  city  of  Toronto  was  not  known  to 
the  Indians  by  that  name,  but  that  there  were  a  Bay,  a  Lake,  and  a  Kiver  to 
the  north  called  Toronto. 
40 


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314 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,    AND 


city  was  only  £121,519 ;  and  there  was  a  debt  (»f  £9,240 
contracted  on  account  of  the  market  buildings,  on  which 
the  interest  was  £550  a  year.  In  anticripation  of  the 
taxes,  it  was  necessary  to  borrow  £1,000.  The  Bank 
of  Upper  Canada  refused  to  advance  the  money ;  its 
president,  the  late  Dr.  Widmer,  having  unsuccess- 
fully  opposed  Mr.  Mackenzie  in  the  ward  election  for 
Alderman.  The  advertisements  of  the  bank  were,  at 
the  same  time,  withdrawn  from  The  Colonial  Advocate. 
Application  was  next  made  to  Truscotto  of  the  Farmers' 
Bank.  lie  asked  what  security  would  bo  given.  The 
city  charter  was  liable  to  be  vetoed  in  England ;  and 
in  this  state  of  uncertainty  personal  security  became 
necessary.  The  Mayor  and  other  members  of  tlie 
corporation  signed  the  note.  To  meet  the  demands 
on  the  city  treasury,  it  was  necessary  to  levy  a  rate 
of  3^.  on  the  pound.  Tliis  was  regarded  as  a  mon- 
strous piece  of  fiscal  oppression ;  almost  sufficient  to 
justify  a  small  rebellion.*  Fifteen  times  as  much  is 
now  paid  without  a  murmur.  To  such  an  extent  was 
the  public  dissatisfaction  carried  at  what  was  consid- 
ered the  exorbitant  taxes,  that  the  Mayor  found  it 
necessary  to  call  a  public  meeting,  to  make  an  expla- 
nation .f     This  was  felt  to   be  the   more  necessary 

*  "There  was,"  Mr.  Mackenzie  said,  "a,  wonderful  outcry  raised  in  Toronto 
that  the  inequality  of  the  taxes,  and  the  burthcnsomo  extent  to  which  they  had 
been  laid  upon  the  citizens,  were  the  acts  of  the  corporation,  and  still  more 
especially  the  doings  of  the  Mayor.  This  unfounded  statement  induced  mnny 
persons,  not  only  to  manifest  an  unwillingness  to  pay,  but  also  to  urge  others 
to  withhold  payment,  and  gave  the  collectors  a  great  deal  of  trouble;  while 
Bome  of  the  members  of  the  council  were  daily  met  by  complaints,  to  each  of 
whom  a  long  detail  of  facts  had  to  be  gone  into,  the  whole  appearing  inter- 
minable." 

f  At  this  meeting,  the  Mayor  proceeded  to  explain  the  system  of  asseg8'..c:>t!; 
the  nature  of  the  loan  made  for  roads  ;  the  £1,000  assessed  from  the  citizens  to 


^:;iS 


THE   CANADIAN    KKHKLLION. 


315 


bo(':uiso  n  small  meeting,  composed  chiefly  of  officials 
unci  their   immediate   friends   and   dependents,    had 
already  passed  a  censure  upon  the  Mayor  for  having, 
as  ii  journalist,  published    Mr.    ITume's   celebrated 
"baiut'ul  domination"  letter.     The  meeting,  called  by 
the  ^layor,  took  place  on   the  20tli  of  July.     After 
Mr.  Mackenzie  had  explained,  at  some  length,   the 
necessity  for  the  three  penny  tax,  Mr.  Sheriff  Jarvis 
interrupted,  saying   it  was  his-  intention  to  move   a 
censuro  on  the  conduct  of  the  Mayor.     There  were 
some  two    thousand   persons   present ;    and    as   the 
majority  were  the  friends  of  the  Mayor,  he  met  this 
menace  by  a  resolution  pledging  the  citizens  not  to  sup- 
port, at  the  next  Parliamentary  election,  a  candidate 
wliose  position  as  an  office-holder  made  him  dependent 
on  the  government.     The  Sheriff  felt  the  force  of  the 
retort;  and  showing  signs  of  impatience  by  taking  out 
his  watch,  his  friends  in  the  crowd  raised  a  storm  of 
disapprobation,  intended  to  drown  the  voice  of  the 
Mayor.    The  confusion  of  voices,  on  both  sides,  ren- 
dered it  impossible  for  any  one  to  obtain  a  further 
hearing;  and  the  meeting  was  adjourned  till  next  day. 
The  meeting  had  commenced   at  six  o'clock   in   the 
evening;  and  on  the  morning  of  the  second  day,  the 
opponents  of  the  Mayor  issued  placards   calling  the 
cadjourned  meeting  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon — 

1 0  oxpondod  by  tho  district  magistrntos ;  tho  logncy  of  400/.  of  city  debt  n'ft  by 
ihe  justices,  and  of  i;9,400  more  for  tho  market  building  ;  the  "  dreadful  and 
uiibi'ftrablo"  condition  of  the  streets ;  the  complaints  of  tho  prisoners  in  jail ; 
tire  prosentment  of  the  grand  jury,  and  tho  absolute  refusal  of  the  justices  to 
w-oiitTute  with  tho  city  council  for  a  remedy  ;  tho  expenses  likely  to  be  in- 
ciirrt'd  in  case  the  cholera  were  to  spread,  and  the  licence  moneys  withheld  by 
government. 


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316 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


an  hour  at  which  it  would  be  very  inconvenient  for 
the  mechanics  and  businc  s  men  to  attend.  The 
Mayor,  regarding  this  as  a  breach  of  faith,  forbade 
the  city  bellman  to  cry  the  meeting  for  that  hour,  and 
resolved  not  to  attend  it  himself.  The  market  in 
which  the  meeting  was  held,  was  a  parallelogram; 
and  over  the  butchers'  stalls  was  a  balcony  to  accom- 
modate  spectators.  While  the  Sheriff  was  addressing 
the  meeting  he  said :  "  I  care  no  more  for  Mackenzie 
than" — here  he  looked  up  and  saw  a  crow  flying  over 
— "  that  crow,"  he  added.  This  was  deemed  a  great 
oratorical  stroke,  and  it  elicited  a  cheer.  The  crowd 
above,  in  stamping  their  feet,  broke  down  the  balcony; 
and  in  the  descent  some  were  impaled  on  the  butchers' 
hooks,  others  broke  their  limbs  or  received  some  other 
injury.  Seven  or  eight  died  of  the  injuries  they  re- 
ceived, and  others  were  crippled  for  life. 

The  arms  of  the  city  of  Toronto,  with  the  motto 
"  Industry,  Intelligence,  Integrity,"  were  designed  hy 
Mr.  Mackenzie. 

During  the  term  of  Mr.  Mackenzie's  mayoralty,  the 
cholera  revisited  the  city,  and  swept  away  every 
twentieth  inhabitant.  During  the  whole  of  the  time 
,  that  it  raged,  the  Mayor  was  at  the  post  of  duty 
and  of  danger.  He  sought  out  the  helpless  vic- 
tims of  the  disease,  and  administered  to  their  wants. 
He  was  constant  in  his  attendance  on  the  cholera  hos- 
pital. In  the  height  of  the  panic,  occasioned  by  this 
terrible  disease,  when  nobody  else  could  be  induced 
to  take  the  cholera  patients  to  the  hospital,  he  visited 
the  abodes  of  the  victims,  and  placing  them  in  tiie 
cholera  cart,  with  whatever  assistance  he  could  get 


THE    CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


317 


from  the  families  of  the  plague-stricken,  drove  them  to 
the  hospital.  On  some  days  he  made  several  visits  of 
this  kind  to  the  pest-house.  Day  and  night  he  gave 
himself  no  rest.  At  length  worn  out  by  fatigue,  the  dis- 
efise,  from  which  he  had  done  so  much  to  save  others, 
overtook  himself.  The  attack  was  not  of  an  aggra- 
vated nature ;  and  he  was  fortunate  in  obtaining  the 
timely  assistance  of  Dr.  Widmer;  for  medical  men 
were  difficult  to  be  obtained,  and  many  persons  with- 
out medical  education  or  experience  practised  on  the 
unfortunate  sufferers. 

The  Mayor  was  assiduous  in  his  attention  at  the 
Police  Court,  where  he  constantly  sat  to  decide  the 
cases  that  came  up.  He  was  frequently  accompanied 
by  Alderman  Lesslie.  At  the  Mayor's  court,  too,  he 
presided.  Here  he  had  the  assistance  of  juries.  His 
magisterial  decisions  generally  gave  satisfaction ;  but 
he  was  much  censured  for  putting  into  the  stocks  an 
abandoned  creature,  who  had  frequently  been  sent  to 
jail  without  any  beneficial  effect,  and  who  w^as,  on  this 
occasion,  excessively  abusive  to  the  Mayor.  But 
this  species  of  punishment  was  not  new.  The  stocks 
had  till  then  formed  a  regular  means  of  punishment. 
The  error  belonged  to  the  times  quite  as  much  as  to 
the  individual.  A  little  before  that  time,  no  crimi- 
nal was  allowed  to  have  a  counsel  for  his  defence ; 
and  when  this  privilege  was  accorded,  the  Chief 
Justice  expressed  his  doubts  of  the  wisdom  of 
the  change.  Mr.  Bidwell,  one  day,  made  an  elo- 
quent speech  in  behalf  of  a  negro  charged  with  theft; 
and  the  Chief  Justice  thought  the  dangerous  influence 


\  '\ 


'  f 


'I 


. 


'  i 


111 


318 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


of  such  appeals  was  the  best  proof  that  could  be  given 
of  the  doubtful  character  of  the  new  privilege  accorded 
to  persons  accused  of  crime.  ^ 

In  the  beginning  of  the  year,  before  Toronto  was 
incorporated,  Mr.  Mackenzie  had  been  elected  Town 
Warden,  and,  by  a  strange  perversity  of  accidents, 
Church  Warden  also,  Presbyterian  as  he  was.  Before 
the  close  of  his  mayoralty,  he  issued  a  circular,  statin^ 
his  determination  to  decline  to  come  forward  again  for 
the  City  Council ;  but  when  his  friends  complained 
that  he  had  no  right  to  desert  the  Reform  cause,  he, 
at  the  eleventh  hour,  permitted  his  name  to  be  used 
by  the  parties  who  had  insisted  on  nominating  him 
for  re-election.  The  Reformers — for  the  election  Avas 
made  a  party  question — were  defeated ;  Mr  Mackenzie 
being  put  out  on  a  national  cry  raised  by  the  friends  of 
Mr.  (afterwards  Judge)  Sullivan,  the  second  Majwof 
Toronto.  The  grounds  of  this  cry  consisted  of  a  judi- 
cial investigation,  arising  out  of  an  unpleasant  occur- 
rence at  the  dinner  of  the  St.  Patrick's  Society,  in 
which  the  Mayor  unnecessarily,  Mr.  Sullivan  con- 
tended, required  the  evidence  of  certain  ladies. 

On  the  5th  January,  1835,  he  received  the  unani- 
mous thanks  of  a  public  meeting,  "for  the  faithful 
discharge  of  his  arduous  duties  during  the  period  of 
his  office." 

While  Mayor  of  Toronto,  Mr.  Mackenzie  was 
elected  to  the  Assembly  by  the.  Second  Riding  of 
York,  this  being  the  first  election  since  the  division 
of  the  county  into  four  Ridings.  His  opponent,  Mr. 
Edward  Thomson,  obtained  one  hundred  and  seventy- 


THE    CANADIAN   KEBELLION. 


319 


cio'lit  votes  against  three  hundred  and  thirty-four. 
The  general  election  took  place  in  October,  1834 ;  and 
in  addition  to  the  personal  success  of  Mr.  Mackenzie, 
the  party  with  whom  he  acted  secured  a  majority  in 
the  new  House.  Mr.  Bidweil  was  elected  Speaker, 
for  the  second  time. 

On  the  9th  December,  1834,  the  "  Canadian  Alliance 
Society"  was  formed  at  York.  Mr.  James  Lesslie  was 
President,  and  Mr.  Mackenzie  Corresponding  Secre- 
tary. In  the  declaration  of  objects,  formed  upon  re- 
solutions drawn  up  and  submitted  by  Mr.  Mackenzie, 
for  the  attainment  of  which  the  society  was  formed, 
there  were  eighteen  subjects  of  legislation,  twelve  of 
which  have  been  acted  upon.*     In   most  cases  these 

*  Those  are :  Kcsponsible  Government ;  Abolition  of  the  Crown-nominated 
Legislative  Council ;  A  more  equiil  Taxation  of  Property ;  Abolition  of  the 
law  of  Primogeniture  ;  Disunion  of  Church  and  State ;  feeculwrization  of  the 
Clergy  Reserves ;  Provision  for  the  gradual  liquidation  of  the  Public  Debt; 
Di^riintinuance  of  undue  ihterfetence  of  the  Colonial  Office  in  tlio  local  affairs 
of  the  Province;  Cheap  Postage:  Amendment  of  the  Libel  Law;  Amendment 
of  Jury  Laws  ;  The  Control  of  all  the  Provincial  Keveaue  to  be  in  the  Represen- 
tatives of  the  people.  The  other  objects  sought  for,  but  which  did  not  recommend 
themselves  to  the  public  fenson,  were :  The  prevention  of  a  Legislative  Union 
of  Upper  and  Lower  Canada,  a  Written  Constitution,  and  the  Ballot.  The 
abolition  of  all  licensed  monopolies,  and  of  all  monopolizing  land  companies, 
is  not  accomplished ;  some  maj'  question  how  far  our  law  system  has 
been  simplified  and  cheapened :  two  objects  of  the  Alliance,  in  the  latter  of 
which  much  progress  has  been  made.  "To  lessen  the  taxation  on  labor,"  and 
"increase  thesecurity  of  property,"  are  such  general  propositions  that  different 
persons  would  dispute  as  to  how  far  they  had  been  carried  into  effect.  The 
Alliance  was  to  exercise  the  duties  of  a  political  vigilance  committee,  by 
wutching  the  proceedings  of  the  Legislature,  and  enforcing  economy  and  re- 
trenchment. The  members  were  also  to  devote  themselves  to  the  political  educa- 
tion of  the  people,  by  tho  "  diffusion  of  sound  political  information  by  pamphlets 
and  tracts."  And  they  were  to  look  beyond  Upper  Canada  by  "  entering  into 
close  alliance  with  any  similar  association  that  may  be  formed  in  Lower 
Canada  or  the  other  colonies." 


li 


w 


w 


u 


.  1 1 


'U 


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1 


I 


'?! 


' ;  ? 
i  '■ 


I?'  f  : 


a  h 


"'iui!' 


320 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,    AND 


questions  have  been  disposed  of  in  the  way  recom- 
mended by  the  Alliance,  and  in  others  the  deviation 
therefrom  is  more  or  less  marked.     The  objects  of  the 
Society  were  denounced  by  the  partisans  of  the  go- 
vernment as  revolutionary.     Their  tendency  was  cer- 
tainly democratic;    and   the  carrying  out  of  many 
of  the  objects  of  the  Alliance  shows  how  far  we  have 
advanced  in  that  direction.     In  making  the  Legisla- 
tive Council  elective,  we  have  declared  the  impossi- 
bility of  realizing  Pitt's  idea  of  building  up  a  Colonial 
aristocracy.     By  the  abolition  of  the  laws  of  primo- 
geniture, we  have  taken  away  the  only  foundation  on 
which   a  landed  aristocracy  could  rest.     And,  in  sev- 
ering the  connection  of  Church  and  State,  we  have 
placed  all  denominations  on  a  common  level.    But 
we  have  stopped  short  of  the  aims  of  the  Alliance. 
We  have  not  set  up  a  written  constitution,  "  embody- 
ing and  declaring  the  original  jDrinciples  of  govern- 
ment," nor  applied  the  ballot  to  the  election  of  Jus- 
tices of  the  Peace,     We  do  not  select  such  officers  by 
popular  election  at  all,  except  as  an  incident  of  muni- 
cipal dignity.     For  the  time,  the  tide  of  democracy 
has  been  arrested  by  the  civil  war  in  the  neighboring 
Republic ;  and  we  may  possibly  remain  at  the  point 
of  democratic  advancement  at  which  we  have  arrived. 
On  his  return  from  England,  Mr.  Mackenzie  had 
announced  his  intention  of  giving  up  the  publication  of 
a  newspaper.     The  death  of  his  infant,  Joseph  Hume 
Mackenzie,  occurring  on  the  26th  of  October,  1833, 
had  deeply  affected  him,  and  had  much  to  do  in  bring- 
ing him  to  this  determination.     He  seems  to  have 
acted  on  the  impulse  of  grief;  for  two  days  after  that 


THE   CAXADIAN   REBELLION. 


321 


on  which  the  child  died,  this  announcement  was  made. 
He  would  issue  one  or  two  irregular  papers,  and  then 
stop  the  publication.  He  had  commenced  when  Re- 
form was  less  fashionable ;  and  now  there  were  other 
liberal  journals,  so  that  Lis  own  could  be  better  spared. 
But  the  few  fugitive  sheets  counted  up  to  forty-eight, 
from  October  28,  when  the  announcement  was  made, 
to  Jfovember  4,  1834,  when  the  last  number  of  The 
Colonial  Advocate  was  published. 

When  he  commenced  the  arduous,  and  in  those  days 
perilous,  task  of  a  Reform  journalist,  Mr.  Mackenzie 
had  no  enemies  among  the  official  party.  Setting  out 
with  Whig  principles,  he  was  driven  by  the  course  of 
events  into  the  advocacy  of  Radical  Reform.  "  I  en- 
tered," he  says,  "  the  lists  of  opposition  to  the  Execu- 
tive, because  I  believed  the  system  of  government  to 
be  wretchedly  bad,  and  was  uninfluenced  by  any  pri- 
vate feeling,  or  ill-will,  or  anger  towards  any  human 
being  whatever."  He  threw  away  much  of  the  profits 
of  his  business  by  circulating,  at  his  own  expense,  an 
immense  number  of  political  documents,  intended  to 
bring  about  an  amelioration  of  the  wretched  system 
of  government  then  in  existence.  "  Gain,"  he  truly 
says,  "  was  with  me  a  matter  of  comparatively  small 
moment;  nor  do  I  regret  my  determination  to  risk  all 
in  the  cause  of  Reform ;  I  would  do  it  again."  Ho 
did  afterwards  risk  all  on  the  issue  of  Revolution,  and 
lost  the  game.  He  had,  he  thought,  in  1834,  done 
with  the  Press  for  ever.  The  Advocate  was  incor- 
porated with  the  Correspondent,  a  paper  published  by 
Dr.  O'Grrady,  a  Roman  Catholic  priest,  who  was  at 
loggerheads  with  his  bishop,  under  the  name  of  the 


i.1 


41 


'  \ 


U  !  :> 


t  3 


i  i 


i 


ill 


i 


322 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


Correspondent  and  Advocate;  and  Mr.  Mackenzie  ex- 
pressed a  wish  that  no  one  would  withhold  subscrip. 
tions  from  any  other  paper,  on.  the  expectation  that 
he  would  ever  again  connect  himself  with  the  Press. 

This  will  be  a  convenient  place  to  make  an  estimate 
of  the  subject  of  this  biography  as  a  journalist.  His 
writings  show  an  uneven  temper;  but  taking  them  in 
the  mass,  and  considering  the  abuses  he  had  to  assail 
and  the  virulence  of  opposition  he  met — foul  slander?, 
personal  abuse,  and  even  attempted  assassination—we 
have  reason  to  be  surprised  with  the  moderation  of  his 
tone.  In  mere  personal  invective  he  never  dealt.  He 
built  all  his  opposition  on  hard  facts,  collected 
with  industry,  and  subject  to  the  usual  amount  of 
error  in  the  narration.  Latterly,  he  had  entirely 
abandoned  the  practice  of  replying  to  the  abusive 
tirades  of  business  competitors  or  political  opponents. 

"  I  part  company,"  he  said,  "  with  the  corps  edito- 
rial in  the  best  possible  humor."  With  papers  that 
pursued  him  with  abuse,  he  ceased  to  hold  any  com- 
munication ;  refusing  either  to  read  or  receive  them. 
He  borrowed  this  metaphor  to  show  how  he  might 
have  failed  to  come  up  to  his  original  intentions: 
"  We  begin  to  cross  a  strong  river,  with  our  eyes  and 
our  resolution  fixed  on  the  point  of  the  opposite  shore 
on  which  we  propose  to  land ;  but  gradually  giving 
way  to  the  torrent,  we  are  glad  by  the  aid  perhaps  of 
branch  and  bush  to  extricate  ourselves  at  some  distant 
and  perhaps  dangerous  landing  place,  much  farther 
down  the  stream  than  that  on  which  we  had  fixed  our 
intentions."  He  generally  wrote  in  the  first  person; 
and  his  productions  sometimes  took  the  shape  of  letters 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


323 


to  important  political  personages.     His  articles  were 
of  every  possible   length,   from  the   terse,    compact 
paragraph  to  a  full  newspaper  page.     On  whatever 
objects  exerted,  his  industry  was  untiring;  and  the 
unceasing  labors  of  the  pen,  consuming  nights  as  well 
as  days,  prematurely  wore  out  a  naturally  durable 
frame.    Though  possessed  of  a  rich  fund  of  humor, 
liis  Avork  was  too  earnest  and  too  serious  to  admit  of 
his  drawing  largely  upon  it  as  a  journalist.     Of  Robt. 
Randal,  when  his  constituents  had  given  him  a  new 
suit  of  clothes,  he  said :  "  He  now  moves  among  us 
literally  clothed  from  head  to  foot  with  the  approba- 
tion of  his  constituents."    He  sometimes  kept  note  of 
time  by  printing  at  the  head  of  his  labors :  "  Midnight 
Selections  and  Reflections  (half  asleep)."    Whatever 
lie  did,  he  did  with  an  honest  intention ;  and  though 
freedom  from  errors  cannot  be  claimed  for  him,  it  may 
truly  be  said  that  his  very  faults  were  the  results  of 
generous  impulses,  acted  upon  with  insufficient  reflec- 
tion. 


11 


A 


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IM 


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i 

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1  ■   ' 

It 

If  i 

li'il  1 

,       < 

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i     1  ■"  * 

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iiitll: 


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1   i  I  r 

Mi . 


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I'^mI'M 


324 


LIFE   OF    MACKENZIE,  AND 


I  ., 


CHAPTER  XIX.  ; 

Meeting  of  the  now  House — Discussion  of  Mr.  Hume's  "  Baneful  Domination" 
Letter — Solicitor  General  Hagoriniiii  charged  with  threatening  Physical 
Force  Resistance — The  Grievance  Committee — Epitome  and  Analysis  of  itj 
Contents — Read  by  the  King — Meeting  of  the  Legislature  delayed  till  a 
Reply  to  Grievance  Report  could  be  sent — Total  Dependence  of  tho  Local 
Government  on  Downing  Street  proscribed — Mr.  Mackenzie  appointed 
Director  of  the  Welland  Canal — The  Disclosures  he  makes — Career  of  Sir. 
Hineks — Mackenzie  visits  Papincau  and  the  other  Popular  Leaders  of  Lower 
Canada — Letter  to  Mr.  Hume. 

The  new  Hous,e  met  on  the  15th  of  July,  1835.  On 
the  first  vote — that  on  the  Speakership — the  govern- 
ment was  left  in  a  minority  of  four.*  The  Solicitor 
General  branded  Mr.  Bidwell  as  a  disloyal  man,  who 
"  wished  to  overturn  the  government  and  institutions 
of  the  country."  Mr.  Mackenzie  thought  it  necessary 
to  acquit  Mr.  Bidwell  of  the  charge  of  being  a  member 
of  the  Canadian  Alliance  Society. 

The  taunt  of  the  Solicitor  General  was  not  forgotten 
when  the  Lieutenant  Gov  .rnor's  speech  came  up  to  be 
answered.  The  resolutions  on  which  the  Address  was 
founded  were  moved  by  Mr.  Perry,  a  member  of  tiie 
opposition.  The  letters  of  Mr.  Hume  to  Mr.  Macken- 
zie had  been  denounced  by  the  official  party  as  rank 
treason.     Referring  to  this  circumstance,  the  Address 

*  The  vote  was  thirty-one  against  twenty-seven. 


THE  CANADIAN   KEBELLION. 


325 


in  reply  to  the  Lieutenant  Governor's  speech  expressed 
satisfaction  that  "  His  Majesty  has  received,  through 
your  Excellency,  from  the  people  of  this  Province, 
fresh  proofs  of  their  devoted  loyalty  and  of  their  sin- 
cere and  earnest  desire  to  maintain  and  perpetuate  the 
connection  with  the  great  Empire  of  which  they  form 
so  important  a  part ;"  proofs  which  would  "  serve  to 
correct  any  misrepresentations  intended  to  impress 
His  Majesty  with  the  belief  that  those  who  desire  the 
eform  of  many  public  abuses  in  the  Province  are  not 
well  affected  towards  His  Majesty's  person  and  go- 
vernment." It  also  deprecated  the  spirit  in  which 
honest  differences  of  opinion  had  been  treated  by 
persons  in  office,  who,  on  that  account,  had  impeached 
tlie  loyalty,  integrity,  and  patriotism  of  their  oppo- 
nents, as  calculated  "  to  alienate  the  affections  of  His 
Majesty's  loyal  people  and  render  them  dissatisfied  with 
the  administration."  "But,"  the  Address  concluded, 
"should  the  government  be  administered  agreeably  to 
the  intent,  meaning,  and  spirit  of  our  glorious  con- 
stitution, the  just  wishes  and  constitutional  rights  of 
the  people  duly  respected,  the  honors  and  patronage 
of  His  Majesty  indiscriminately  bestowed  on  persons 
of  worth  and  talent,  who  enjoy  the  confidence  of  the 
people,  without  regard  to  their  political  or  religious 
opinions,  and  your  Excellency's  councils  filled  with 
moderate,  wise,  and  discreet  individuals,  who  are 
understood  to  respect,  and  to  be  influenced  by,  the 
public  voice ;  we  have  not  the  slightest  apprehension 
but  the  connection  between  this  Province  and  the 
Parent  State  may  long  continue  to  exist,  and  be  a 
blessing  mutually  advantageous  to  both." 


t! 


M 


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I'll 


V  i  1  1 


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i 


326 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


A  majority  of  the  House — the  vote  was  twentv. 
nine  against  twenty-four — rejected  an  amendment 
indirectly  censuring  Mr.  Hume's  "baneful  domina. 
tion"  letter;  on  which  the  Solicitor  General  remarked 
that  the  majority  avoided  the  opportunity  of  "con- 
demning treasonable  sentiments."  "If,"  he  added  in 
allusion  to  Mr.  Hume's  letter,  "  there  be  an  honorable 
member  of  this  House  who  is  bound  to  identify  him- 
self  with  treason ;  who  will  stand  up  and  sustain  him* 
who  says  you  are  to  keep  in  continual  view  the  revolu- 
tion  of  the  United  States  and  its  results  ;  and  that  a 
crisis  is  fast  approaching  in  the  affairs  of  Canada 
which  will  terminate  in  its  independence  from  the 
baneful  domination  of  the  mother  country,  I  would 
pronounce  such  a  man  to  be  deeply  disloyal  indeed." 
At  the  same  time,  Mr.  Hagerman  found  it  necessary 
to  defend  himself  from  an  insinuation  that  he  was  the 
author  of  a  declaration  which,  on  behalf  of  the  Tories, 
had  threatened  to  look  out  for  a  new  state  of  political 
existence. 

During  this  debate,  Mr.  Mackenzie  sat  silent; 
though  it  was  against  him,  as  the  correspondent  of 
Mr.  Hume,  that  the  thunder  of  the  Solicitor  General 
was  launched.  But  the  aim,  not  being  direct,  left 
nothing  to  be  parried. 

But  the  matter  was  not  to  rest  here.  On  a  future 
day — January  30th — Mr.  Gowan  brought  up  the  ques- 
tion of  Mr.  Hume's  letter,  but  without  naming  it. 
Having  no  love  for  the  Family  Compact,  he  in- 
cluded in  his  resolution  of  censure  the  "  public  de- 
claration of  Christopher  Alexander  Hagerman,  Esq., 

•  Mr.  Humei 


THE   CANADIAN   REBKLLION. 


327 


His  ^^Irtjosty's  Solicitor  General  for  Upper  Canncla, 
that  he  would  resist,  by  physical  force,  a  law  passed 
by  the  constituted  authorities  of  the  land,  and  upon 
the  especial  recommendation  of  the  Kinj^'s  Govern- 
ment." The  Solicitor  General's  explanation  was  that 
ho  had  said  he  would  not  pay  a  capitation  tax  on 
cmi" rants — though  it  was  very  c^ear  he  could  not  bo 
asked,  since  he  was  not  an  immigrant — but  would 
rather  be  sent  to  prison.  Mr.  Mackenzie  saw  that 
"  this  proceeding  was  intended  as  a  shot  at  him  over 
the  head  of  Mr.  Hume ;"  as  the  publisher  of  the  letter, 
the  resolution  must  affect  him  even  more  than  the 
writer.  "  Mr.  Hume  had  said  the  affairs  of  the 
Canadas  were  coming  to  a  crisis ;  and  had  he  not  the 
best  authority  for  saying  b">  ?  The  Governor-in-chief 
had  said,  in  one  of  his  dispatches,  that  Lower  Canada 
was  fast  going  into  a  state  of  confusion."  "  As  for 
himself,"  Mr.  Mackenzie  added,  "  his  loyalty  was  not 
suspected  either  in  this  country  or  in  England." 

In  the  early  part  of  the  session,  (January  26,)  Mr. 
Mackenzie  moved  for  and  obtained  the  since  cele- 
brated Select  Committee  on  Grievances,  whose  report, 
Lord  Glenelg  stated,  was  carefully  examined  by  the 
King,  was  replied  to  at  great  length  by  the  Colonial 
minister,  and  was  taken  by  Sir  Francis  Bond  Head 
—so  he  said — for  his  guide,  but  was  certainly  not 
followed  by  him.  As  we  approach  the  threshold  of 
an  armed  insurrection,  it  is  necessary  to  obtain  from 
those  engaged  in  it  their  view  of  the  grievances  which 
existed.  For  this  purpose  an  analysis  of  the  famous 
Seventh  Report  of  the  Committee  on  Grievances  will 
be  necessary. 


5  '  .! 


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Hill 


1  ' 


I'l   {    (! 


328 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


Soon  after,  in  addressing  the  Asaonibly,  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie  said: — "I  would  impress  upon  tlio  IIou.so  the 
importance  of  two  things :    the  necessity  of  getlin<^ 
control  of  the  revenue  raised  in  this  country,  and  a 
control  over  the  men  sent  out  hero  to  govern  us,  by 
placing  them  under  the  direction  of  responsible  ad- 
risers."     The  House,  about  the  same  time,  addressed 
the  Lieutenant  Governor  for  information  "  in  respect  to 
the  powers,  duties,  and  responsibilities  of  the  p]xecu- 
tive  Council ;  how  far  that  body  is  responsible  for  the 
acts  of  the  Executive  Government,  and  how  fur  the 
Lieutenant  Governor  is  authorized  by  His  Majesty  to 
act  with  or  .-xgainst  their  advice."     The  Lieutenant 
Governor  replied  that  the  Executive  Council  had  no 
powers  but  such  as  were  conferred  on  thorn  by  "the 
express  provisions  of  British  or  Colonial  statutes," 
about  which  the  House  knows  as  much  as  he  knew. 
However,  he  condescended  to  proceed  to  particulars. 
*'  It  was  necessary,"  he  said,  "  that  they  should  con- 
cur with  the  Lieutenant  Governor,  in  deciding  upon 
applications  for  lands,  and  making  regulations  rela- 
tive to  the  Crown  Lands  Department."    And  as  if 
there  was  a  peculiar  necessity  for  contradicting  his 
first  statement,  he  said  these  duties  were  additional  to 
those  imposed  by  statute.     "  It  was,  also,"  His  Excel- 
lency proceeded  to  state,  "  the  duty  of  th^  Executive 
Council  to  afford  their  advice  to  the  Lieutenant  Go- 
vernor u])on  all  public  matters  referred  to  them  for 
their  consideration."     He  himself,  as  well  as  his  coun- 
cil, was  responsible  to  the  Imperial  Government  and 
removable  at  the  pleasure  of  the  King.    Where  by 
statute  the  concurrence  of  the  Executive  Council  was 


THE   CANADIAN    HE13ELLI0N. 


329 


rcfjuii'^'il  to  any  act  of  the  government  it  could  not  bo 
jispi'Msed  with,  and  in  such  case  the  Executive  Coun- 
cil must  share  the  responsibility  of  the  particular  act. 
But  the  Lieutenant  Governor  claimed  the  riyht  to 
exercise  "his  judgment  in  regard  to  demanding  the 
assistance  and  advice  of  the  Executive  Council,  ex- 
cept ho  is  confined  to  a  certain  course  by  the  instruc- 
tions uf  His  Majesty." 

The  Lieutenant  Governor  fairly  expressed  the  offi- 
cial view  of  ministerial  responsibility,  as  was  after- 
wards shown  by  Sir  Francis  Bond  Head's  instructions, 
on  his  appointment  to  the  Lieutenant  Governorship 
of  Upper  Canada. 

In  order  to  understand  what  were,  at  this  time  nie 
subjects  of  complaint  by  the  popular  party  in  Lpper 
CanaiU,  the  contents  of  the  Grievance  Report  must  be 
examined.  And  to  discover  the  spirit  in  which  these 
complaints  were  met  in  England,  the  reply  of  Lord 
Glenelg,  then  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies, 
must  be  consulted.  We  are  not  entitled  to  pass  over, 
as  of  no  interest,  these  complaints  which  proved  to  be 
the  seeds  of  insurrection,  and  the  prompt  response  to 
which  would  have  prevented  the  catastrophe  that  fol- 
lowed, in  less  than  three  years  after. 

To  the  Select  Committee  on  Grievances  was  referred 
a  number  of  documents,  including  the  celebrated  dis- 
patch of  Lord  Goderich,  and  the  accompanying  docu- 
ments, written  by  Mr.  Mackenzie  while  in  England ; 
the  answer  of  the  Lieutenant  Governor  in  reply  to 
an  address  of  the  House  of  Assembly  for  information 
regarding  the  dismissal  of  the  Crown  officers,  the  reap- 
pointment of  one  of  them,  and  the  selection  of  Mr.  Jame- 


l 


¥\ 


» 


I  ■!! 


330 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


son  as  Attorney  General ;  together  with  petitions 
vice-regal  messages,  and  other  documents.  The  com- 
mittee examined  witnesses  as  well  as  documents,  and 
their  Report,  with  documents  and  evidence,  makes  a 
thick  octavo  volume.  ..      :  ,.      ;  ;-•  s    r.,.. 

"  The  almost  unlimited  extent  of  the  patronao-e  of 
the  Crown,  or  rather  of  the  Colonial  minister  for  the 
time  being,"  the  Report  declared,  was  the  chief  source 
of  Colonial  discontent.  "Such,"  it  added,  "is  the 
patronage  of  the  Colonial  office,  that  the  granting  or 
the  withholding  of  supplies  is  of  no  political  import- 
ance, unless  as  an  indication  of  the  opinion  of  the 
country  concerning  the  character  of  the  government." 
Mr.  Stanley,  while  in  communication  with  Dr.  Baldwin, 
as  chairman  of  a  public  meeting  in  York,  some  years  be- 
fore, had  pointed  to  the  constitutional  remedies  of  "  ad- 
dressing for  the  removal  of  the  advisers  of  the  Crown, 
and  refusing  supplies."  The  former  remedy  had  h  -h 
twice  tried,  but  without  producing  any  good  effect,  and 
almost  without  eliciting  a  civil  reply.  The  second 
was  hereafter  to  be  resorted  to.  When  the  Province 
first  came  under  the  dominion  of  the  British  Crown, 
certain  taxes  were  imposed  by  Imperial  statute  for 
the  support  of  the  local  government.  In  time,  as  the 
House  of  Assembly  acquired  some  importance  and  had 
attracted  some  able  men,  the  control  of  these  revenues 
became  an  object  of  jealousy  and  desire.  Before  there 
had  been  any  serious  agitation  on  the  subject,  in  Up- 
per Canada,  these  revenues  were  surrendered  in  ex- 
change for  a  permanent  Civil  List.  An  opportune 
moment  was  chosen  for  effecting  this  change.  Neither 
of  the  two  previous  Houses  would  have  assented  to  the 


THE  CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


331 


arrangement,  nor  would  that  which  had  now  come 
into  existence,  so  long  as  there  were  no  other  consti- 
tutional means  of  bringing  the  administration  to  ac- 
count than  that  which  might  have  been  obtained  by  a 
control  of  the  purse-strings.  The  granting  of  a  per- 
manent Civil  List  had  looked  to  the  Reformers  like 
throwing  away  the  only  means  of  control  over  the 
administration.  Indirectly  the  Executive  controlled 
what  was,  proj^erly  speaking,  the  municipal  expendi- 
ture. Magistrates  appointed  by  the  Crown  met  in 
Quarter  Session  to  dispose  of  the  local  taxes.  The 
bench  of  Magistrates  in  the  Eastern  District  had,  that 
very  session,  refused  to  render  the  House  an  account 
of  their  expenditure.  This  was,  somewhat  illogically, 
held  to  be  proof  that  the  mode  of  their  appointment 
was  vicious.  Considered  as  dispensers  of  local  taxes, 
the  objection  was  good;  but  if  it  extended  to  their 
magisterial  duties,  it  was  bad.  This  distinction  was 
overlooked  by  the  committee.  The  old  objections  to 
the  Post-office  being  under  the  control  of  the  Imperial 
Grovernment  were  reiterated.  The  patronage  of  the 
Crown  was  stated  to  cover  £50,000  a  year,  in  the 
shape  of  salaries  and  other  payments,  exclusive  of 
the  Clergy  Reserve  revenue ;  the  whole  of  the  money 
being  raised  within  the  Province.  The  £4,472,  which 
had  annually  com3  from  England  for  the  Church  of 
England,  had  been  withdrawn  in  1834.  Considering 
the  poverty  of  the  Province,  the  scale  of  salaries 
were  relatively  much  higher  than  at  present.  Ten 
persons  were  in  receipt  of  $4,000  a  year  each  for 
their  public  services.  The  mode  of  treating  the  sala- 
ries received  by  the  public  functionaries,  pursued  in 


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332 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


this  report,  is  not  free  from  objection.  The  bare 
statement  that  "the  Hon.  John  H.  Dunn  has  received 
£11,534  of  public  money  since  1827,"  proved  nothing; 
yet  the  aggregate  sum  was  calculated  to  create  the 
impression  that  there  was  something  wrong  about  it. 
Some  salaries  and  fees  were  undoubtedly  excessive. 
Mr.  Ruttan  received,  in  fees,  as  Sheriff  of  the  New- 
castle District,  in  1834,  £1,040,  and  in  the  previous 
year,  £1,180.  Pensions  had  been  pretty  freely  dis- 
pensed out  of  the  Crown  revenue. 

Under  the  head  of  pensions,  £30,500  is  set  down  as 
having  been  paid  to  eleven  individuals,  within  eight 
yea.s;  but  we  hardly  think  the  payment  to  Bishop 
McDonnell  should  have  come  under  that  designation. 
While  the  Church  of  England  received  the  proceeds 
of  the  Clergy  Reserves,  annual  payments  were  made 
by  the  government  to  several  other  denominations.* 
Profuse  professions  of  loyalty  sometimes  accompanied 
applications  for  such  payments  ;  and  there  seemed  to 
be  no  shame  in  confessing  something  like  an  equiva- 
lent in  political  support.  The  Church  of  England 
managed  to  get  the  lion's  share ;  and  this  naturally 
brought  down  on  her  the  envy  and  jealousy  of  other 
denominations.  Of  twenty-three  thousand  nine  hun- 
dred and  five  acres  of  public  lands  set  apart  as  glebes, 

•  Archdeacon  (afterwards  Bishop)  Strachan,  when  called  hefore  the  com- 
mittee, said  :  "  There  should  be,  in  every  Christian  country,  an  established  re- 
ligion ;  otherwise  it  is  not  a  Christian,  but  an  infidel  country."  The  Eoman 
Catholics,  under  the  treaty  between  England  and  France,  by  which  they  were 
guaranteed  all  their  accustomed  rights  and  dues,  at  the  conquest  of  the  country, 
collected  tithes  from  their  own  people  in  Glengary  and  Essex,  the  two  parts 
of  the  Upper  Province  where  the  Catholics  were  numerous.  The  tithe,  as  it 
was  called,  extended  to  only  a  twenty-sixth  part  of  the  tithable  produce. 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


333 


between  1789  and  1833,  the  Church  of  England  had 
obtained  twenty-two  thousand  three  hundred  and  forty- 
five  acres.  ■.,: 

It  was  complained  that  much  of  the  money  granted 
for  general  purposes  was  very  imperfectly  accounted 
for.  "  The  remedy,"  said  the  Report,  "  would  be  a 
Board  of  Audit,  the  proceedings  of  which  should  be 
regulated  by  a  well  considered  statute,  under  a  respon- 
sible government."  In  due  time,  both  these  things 
came ;  Mr.  Mackenzie  having,  in  these  as  in  number- 
less other  instances,  been  in  advance  of  the  times. 

Justices  of  the  Peace,  it  was  complained,  had  been 
selected  almost  entire^-  from  one  political  party. 

The  necessity  of  a  i  '^  >ti3ible  administration  to  any 
effectual  reform  of  abv  : .  liad  been  frequently  insisted 
on  by  Mr.  Mackenzie.  ''Ore  great  excellence  of  the 
English  Constitution,"  says  this  Report,  "consists  in 
the  limits  it  imposes  on  the  will  of  a  King,  by  re- 
quiring responsible  men  to  give  eifect  to  it.  In  Upper 
Canada  no  such  responsibility  can  exist.  The  Lieu- 
tenant Governor  and  the  British  ministry  hold  in  their 
hands  the  whole  patronage  of  the  Province ;  they  hold 
the  sole  dominion  of  the  country,  and  leave  the  repre- 
sentative branch  of  the  Legislature  powerless  and  de- 
pendent." English  statesmen  were  far  from  realizing 
the  necessity  of  making  the  Colonial  government  re- 
sponsible ;  and  for  some  years  after  the  official  idea 
continued  to  be  that  such  a  system  was  incompatible 
with  Colonial  independence.  Mr.  Stanley  had  been 
one  of  the  few  who  thought  that  "  something  might 
be  done,  with  great  advantage,  to  give  a  really  re- 
sponsible character  to  the  Executive  Council,  which  at 


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334 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


4  r 


I  ft 


present  is  a  perfectly  anomalous  body,  hardly  recog- 
nized by  the  Constitution,  and  chiefly  effective  as  a 
source  of  patronage."  Only  a  few  years  before,  Attorney 
General  Robinson  had  denied  the  existence  of  a  min' 
istry  in  Upper  Canada,  and  claimed  the  right  to  act 
solely  upon  his  own  individual  responsibility  in  the 
House,  and  without  reference  to  any  supposed  neces- 
sity for  agreement  with  his  colleagues.  And  Lord 
Goderich  held  that  the  Colonial  Governors  were  alone 
responsible.  He  complained  that  the  Legislative 
Councils  had  been  used  "  as  instruments  fbx*  relievinfr 
Governors  from  the  responsibility  they  ought  to  have 
borne  for  the  rejection  of  measures  which  have  been 
proposed  by  the  other  branch  of  the  Legislature,  and 
have  not  seldom  involved  them  in  dissensions  which. 
it  would  have  been  more  prudent  to  decline.  The 
effect  of  the  institution  therefore,"  he  added,  "  is  too 
often  to  induce  a  collision  between  the  different 
branches  of  the  Legislature,  to  exempt  the  Governor 
from  a  due  sense  of  responsibility,  and  to  deprive  the 
representative  body  of  some  of  its  most  useful  mem- 
bers." The  Executive  Council  had  scarcely  any  recog- 
nized duties  beyond  those  which  were  merely  minis- 
terial. The  Lieutenant  Governor  did  not  at  all  feel 
bound  to  ask  th :  advice  of  his  councillors,  or  to  act 
upon  it  when  given.  In  appointments  to  office,  they 
were,  as  a  rule,  not  consulted.  The  giving  or  with- 
holding of  the  Royal  assent  to  bills  passed  by  the 
Legislature  was  a  matter  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the 
Lieutenant  Governor.  Yet  the  Executive  Council  was 
recognized  by  the  Constitutional  Act ;  and  cases  were 
specially  mentioned  in  which  the  Governor  was  re- 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


335 


quired  to  act  upon  their  advice.  The  Lieutenant  Go- 
vernor, coming  a  stranger  to  the  Province,  could  not 
act  without  advice ;  and  he  was  lucky  if  he  escaped 
the  toils  of  some  designing  favorite,  who  had  access 
to  liis  presence,  and  could  determine  his  general 
course.  The  vicious  habit  of  sending  out  military 
governors,  who  were  wholly  unsuited  for  civil  admin- 
istration, was  in  vogue.  The  only  excuse  for  pursuing 
this  course  was  that  a  Lieutenant  Governorship  was 
not  a  sufficient  prize  to  attract  men  of  first  rate  abili- 
ties. There  was  great  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  the 
possible  success  of  responsible  government.  It  had 
nev.T  been  tried  in  any  of  the  old  colonies.  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie had,  while  in  England,  endeavored  to  convince 
Lord  Goderich  that,  with  some  modifications,  it  might 
be  made  the  means  of  improving  the  Colonial  Gov- 
ernment. The  sum  of  the  whole  matter  is  that  the 
system  made  the  Lieutenant  Governor  responsible,  in 
the  absence  of  responsible  advisers  by  whom  he  might 
have  been  personally  relieved ;  and  he,  in  turn,  was 
only  too  glad  to  make  the  Legislative  Council  perform 
the  functions  which,  on  questions  of  legislation,  na- 
turally belonged  to  a  responsible  administration.  He 
had  them  under  his  control. 

The  Committee,  insisting  on  the  necessity  of  entire 
confidence  between  the  Executive  and  the  House  of 
Assembly,  tracing  it  to  the  material  progress  of  the  Pro- 
vince ;  thereby  admitting  by  implication  that,  in  the 
early  states  of  colonial  existence,  the  want  of  a  respon- 
sible administration  had  not  been  recognized.  "This 
confidence,"  it  was  truly  added,  "cannot  exist  while 
those  who  have  loner  and  deservedlv  lost  the  esteem 


I 


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333 


LIFE   OF    MACKENZIE,    AND 


of  tbe  country  are  continued  in  the  public  offices  and 
counc'Is.     Under  such  a  state  of  things,"  it  was  added 
"distrust  is  unavoidable;  however  much  it  is  to  be 
deplored   as  incompatible  with  the   satisfactory  dis- 
charge  of  the  public  business."     Sir  John  Collborne 
had   admitted*  that,   "composed   as  the   Legislative 
Council  is  at  present,  the  Province  had  a  right  to 
complain  of  the  great  influence  of  the  Executive  Go- 
vernment in  it."     In  1829,  it  comprised  seventeen 
members,  exclusive  of  the  Bishop  of  Quebec,  not  more 
than  fifteen  of  whom  ever  attended  ;  and  of  these  six 
were  members  of  the  Executive  Council,  and  four  more 
held  offices  under  the  government.     It  was  no  easy 
matter,  in  the  then  state  of  the  Province,  to  find  per- 
sons qualified  to  fill  the  situation  of  Legislative  Coun- 
cillor ;  and  that  circumstance  had  doubtless  something 
to  do  in  determining  its  character.     In  1834,  the 
Council   contained  an   additional   member; f  but  he 
drew  an  annual  salary  from  the  government,  and  did 
not  therefore,  by  his  presence,  tend  to  increase  its  in- 
dependence of  the  Executive.    While  Sir  John  Col- 
borne  professed  to  be  desirous  of  seeing  the  Legislative 
Council  rendered  less  dependent  upon  the  Crown,  it 
was  in  evidence  that  the  Executive  was  in  the  habit  of 
coercing  the  members  whom  it  could  control.    Instances 
of  remarkably  sudden  changes  of  opinion,  effected  by 
this  means,  were  given.     A  disseverance  of  judicial 
and  legislative  functions  had  beer  '^equently  asked  by 
the  Legislative  Assembly ;  but  the     .lief  Justice  still 
continued  Speaker  of  the  Legislat'  e  Council.    From 


*  Dispatch  to  Sir  George  Murray,  F  bruary  16,  1829. 
f  Bishop  McDonnell. 


THE  CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


337 


the  facts  before  them,  the  committee  concluded  that 
the  second  branch  of  the  Legislature  had  failed  to 
answer  the  purpose  of  its  institution,  and  could  "  never 
be  made  to  answer  the  end  for  which  it  was  created ;" 
and  that  "the  restoration  of  Legislative  harmony  and 
good  government  requires  its  reconstruction  on  the 
elective  principle."  -     i  i 

Although  many  may  think  this  an  erroneous  opi- 
nion, it  cannot  be  matter  of  surprise  that  it  should 
have  found  expression.  The  Legislative  Council, 
owing  its  creation  to  the  Crown,  and  its  members 
being  appointed  for  life,  found  itself  in  constant  col- 
lision with  the  Representative  Chamber.  This  col- 
lision created  irritation;  and  the  people  naturally  took 
the  part  of  their  representatives  in  the  contest.  If 
there  had  been  an  Executive  Council  to  bear  the  re- 
sponsibility that  was  thrown  on  this  branch  of  the 
L^lature,  a  change  of  ministry  would  have  obviated 
the  desire  for  a  change  of  system.  The  Legislative 
Council  would  have  been  modified  by  having  additions 
made  to  its  numbers,  as  was  done  after  the  inauguration 
of  responsible  government;  and  the  second  Chamber, 
being  kept  in  harmony  with  the  popular  will,  would 
not  have  been  attacked  in  its  constitution.  The 
opinion  that  the  Council  ought  to  be  made  elective  was 
not  confined  to  Canada ;  it  had  been  shared  by  several 
English  statesmen,  including  Sir  James  Mackintosh, 
Mr.  Stanley,  and  Mr.  Labouchere. 

Instances  were  adverted  to  by  the  committee,  in 
which  the  members  of  the  local  Executive  had  pre- 
vented the  good  intentions  of  the  Imperial  Govern- 
ment being  carried  into  effect.    Three  members  of  the 

43 


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LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


Executive  Council,  Messrs.  Markland,  Strachan,  and 
P.  Robinson,  refused  to  answei  several  of  the  ques- 
tions  put  to  them  by  the  committee.    This  un-English 
habit  had  been  encouraged  by  Lieutenant  Governor 
Maitland,  who,  in  1828,  in  a  dispatch  to  the  Secretary 
of  State  for  the  Colonies,  said :  "If  the  Assembly  can 
without  communicating  with  the  Lieutenant  Grovernor 
summon  the  Receiver  General  or  the  Inspector  Gene- 
ral of  Public  Accounts,  or  any  of  their  clerks,  to  attend 
a  Select  Committee,  and  compel  their  attendance  at 
the  peril  of  imprisonment,  the  government  here  has 
no  longer  any  discretion  to  exercise." 

Such  was  the  famous  Report  of  the  Committee  of 
Grievances.*  It  elicited  from  the  Secretary  of  State 
for  the  Colonies  a  reply,  which  we  must  now  proceed 
to  consider.  But  before  the  reply  came,  Lord  Glenelg, 
October  20,  1835,  conveyed  to  Canada  the  assurance 
that  the  King,  having  had  the  Report  before  him,  had 
''  been  pleased  to  devote  as  much  of  his  time  and 
attention,  as  has  been  compatible  with  the  shortness 
of  the  period  which  has  elapsed  since  the  arrival  in 
this  country"  of  the  dispatch  enclosing  the  document 


)    n 


I'M 


<'H       f|f 


•  *  Whether  from  oversight  or  whatever  cause,  the  Grievance  Report  had  not 
been  adopted  by  the  House ;  though  two  thousand  copies  had  been  ordered  to 
be  printed  in  an  unusual  form,  and  had  been  distributed.  Ou  tho  6th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1836,  however,  the  Assembly  resolved,  by  a  vote  of  twenty-four  agaiiut 
fifteen,  "that  the  facts  and  opinions  embodied  in  that  report  continue  tore-'^ 
ceive  the  full  and  deliberate  sanction  and  confirmation  of  the  House  and  the 
people  whom  it  represents ;  and  that  it  is  our  earnest  desire  that  themanyim- 
portant  measures  of  reform  recommended  in  that  report  may  be  speedily  car- 
ried into  effect  by  an  administration  deservedly  possessing  tho  public  confi- 
dence."  A  copy  of  this  resolution  was  ordered  to  be  sent  to  the  Secretaryof  j 
State  for  the  Colonies.  It  was  passed  a  week  after  Lord  Glenelg's  dis] 
had  been  laid  before  the  Legislature.  ... ,.,.;    ^.r?  '• 


THE   CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


339 


In  the  ordinary  course  of  things,  the  Upper  Canada 
Legislature  would  have  met  in  November ;  but  so  im- 
portant was  it  deemed  that  the  report  should  be  re- 
sponded to,  that  Major-General  Colborne  was  directed 
to  delay  the  calling  of  the  House  till  the  ensuing 
January — a  delay  of  three  months.  At  the  same  time, 
ail  assurance  was  conveyed  that  the  House  would  find, 
in  the  promised  communications,  "  conclusive  proof 
of  the  desire  and  fixed  purpose  of  the  King  to  redress 
every  real  grievance,  affecting  any  class  of  His  Ma- 
jesty's '  jects  in  Upper  Canada,  which  has  been 
brought  to  His  Majesty's  notice  by  their  representa- 
tives in  Provincial  Parliament  assembled."  A  belief 
was  at  the  same  time  expressed,  that  the  Assembly 
"would  not  propose  any  measure  incompatible  with 
the  great  fundamental  principles  of  the  constitution," 
which,  in  point  of  fact,  had  been  systematically  vio- 
lated by  the  ruling  party.    .:.'..  .1  \-.-' .,,!;..   . 

The  promised  reply  of  Lord  Glenelg  was  dated  De- 
cember 15,  1835.  It  took  the  shape  of  instructions  to 
Sir  Francis  Bond  Head,*  on  his  appointment  to  the 
Lieutenant  Governorship  of  Upper  Canada.  The 
hope  was  expressed  that,  unless  in  an  extreme  emer- 
gency, the  House  would  not  carry  out  the  menaced 
refusal  of  supplies.    But  Lord  Glenelg  must  have 

*  Sir  F.  B.  Head,  who  had  been  instructed  to  communicate  the  substance  of 
these  instructions  to  the  Legislature,  luid  the  entire  dispatch  before  the  two 
Houses;  a  proceeding  for  which  he  incurred  the  disapprobation  of  the  Colo- 
nial office,  and  of  the  British  public.  He  admitted  that  he  was  aware  the 
proceeding  would  embftrrnes  Lord  Glenelg ;  but  he  excused  himself  by  al- 
leging that  the  original  draft  of  the  dispatch  authorized  him  to  communicnto 
a  copy  of  it;  and  the  King  had  made  the  alteration  with  his  own  hand;  as  if 
the  original  intention  of  the  Colonial  minister  ought  to  supersede  the  final  de- 
ca»ion  of  the  minister  and  the  Sovereign.      ilfiji/.'^    <iiil'ff  Oj  ";.5MliilnJ 


h' 


p 


«• 


♦''. 


n 


'^':kir 


■ili 


•11 


I:  r:  I  •■ 


ISP 

i    : 

rill;  a!. 


d^ 


LIFE    <^F   MACKilKZIE,   AlTD 


seen  that  the  House  must  be  the  judge  of  what  con- 
stituted such  an  emergency  as  would  justify  a  resort 
to  this  extreme  measure.     The  patronage  at  the  dig. 
posal  of  the  Crown,  which  had  been  so  much  com- 
plained of,  had  been  swelled  by  the  practice  of  con- 
fiding to  the  government  or  its  officers  the  prosecution 
of  all  offences.     But  this  circumstance  was  declared  to 
be  no  proof  of  any  peculiar  avidity  on  the  part  of  the 
Executive  for  the  exercise  of  such  power.    The  trans- 
fer of  the  patronage  to  any  popular  body  was  objected 
to  as  tending  to  make  public  officers  virtually  irre- 
sponsible, and  to  the  destruction  of  the  "  discipline 
and  subordination  which  connect  together,  in  one  un- 
broken chaiil,  the  King  and  his  Representative,  in  the 
Province,  down  to  the  lowest  functionary  to  whom  any 
portion  of  the  powers  of  the  state  may  be  confided." 
The  selection  of  public  officers,  it  was  laid  down,  must 
for  the  most  part  be  entrusted  to  the  head  of  the  local 
government ;  but  there  were  cases  in  which  the  anal- 
ogy of  English  practice  would  permit  a  transference 
of  patronage  from  the  Lieutenant  Governor  to  others. 
Whatever  was  necessary  to  ensure  subordination  to 
the  head  of  the  government  was  to  be  retained ;  every 
thing  beyond  this  was  at  once  to  be  abandoned.    Sub- 
ordinate public  functionaries  were  to  continue  to  hold 
their  offices  at  the  pleasure  of  the  Crcwn.    They  in- 
curred no  danger  of  dismissal  except  for  misconduct; 
and  great  evils  would  result  from  making  them  inde- 
pendent of  their  superior.    The  new  Lieutenant  Go- 
vernor was  instructed  to  enter  upon  a  review  of  the 
offices  in  the  gift  of  the  Crown,  with  a  view  of  ascer- 
taining to  what  extent  it  would  be  possible  to  reduce 


THE  CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


341 


them  without  impairing  the  efficiency  of  the  public 
service,  and  to  report  the  result  of  his  investigation 
to  the  CoU)nial  Secretary.  He  might  make  a  reduc- 
tion of  offices  either  by  abolition  or  consolidation ; 
but  any  appointment  made  under  those  circumstances 
would  be  provisional  and  subject  to  the  final  decision 
of  the  Imperial  Government.  In  case  of  abolition, 
the  deprived  official  was  to  receive  a  reasonable  com- 
pensation. What  share  of  the  patronage  of  the  Crown 
or  the  local  government  could  be  transferred  to  other 
hands  was  to  be  reported.  A  comparison  of  claims  or 
personal  qualifications  was  to  be  the  sole  rule  for  ap- 
pointments to  office.  As  a  general  rule  no  person  not 
a  native  or  settled  resident  was  to  be  selected  for 
public  employment.  In  case  of  any  peculiar  art  or 
science,  of  which  no  local  candidate  had  a  competent 
knowledge,  an  exception  was  to  be  made.  In  selecting 
the  officers  attached  to  his  own  person,  the  Lieutenant 
Governor  was  to  be  under  no  restriction.  Appoint- 
ments to  all  offices  of  the  value  of  over  £200  a  yeai 
were  to  be  only  provisionally  made  by  the  Lieutenant 
Governor,  with  a  distinct  intimation  to  the  persons 
accepting  them  that  their  confirmation  must  depend 
upon  the  approbation  of  the  Imperial  Government, 
which  required  to  be  furnished  with  the  grounds  and 
motives  on  which  each  appointment  h;id  been  made. 

If  this  shows  a  disposition  to  treat  the  colonists 
with  consideration,  it  was  thesortof  consideration  which 
we  bestow  upon  infants,  and  persons  wholly  incapable 
of  managing  their  own  affairs. 

To  any  measure  of  retrenchment,  compatible  with 
the  just  claims  of  the  public  officers  and  the  efficient 


If 


:|| 


1  ,■  i . 


n 


'  i 


tp. 


■'  f 


':i        ^  i 


Sl'ffJ 


342 


LIFE   OF   MACKKXZIE,  AND 


porformnnc'o  of  the  public  duties,  tlio  King  would 
cheerfully  assent.     The  Assembly  mij^lit  appoint  r 
commission  to  fix  a  scale  of  public  salaries.     The  pon- 
sions  already  granted  and  made  payable  out  of  the 
Crown  revenues  were  held  to  constitute  a  debt,  to  the 
payment  of  which  the  honor  of  the  King  was  pledged; 
and  on  no  consideration  would  His  Majesty  ♦'  assent 
to  the  violation  of  any  engagement  lawfully  and  ad- 
visedly entered  into  by  himself  or  any  of  his  Roynl 
predecessors."     At  the  same  time,  the  law  might  fix, 
at  M  reasonable  limit,  the  amount  of  future  pensions; 
and  to  any  such  measure  the   Lieutenant  Governor 
was  instructed  to  give  the  assent  of  the  Crown.    The 
Assembly  was  anxious  to  dispose  of  the  Clergy  Re- 
serves,  and  place  the  proceeds  at  the  control  of  the 
Legislature.     The  other  chamber  objected ;  and  Lord 
Glenelg  urged  strong  constitutional  reasons  against 
the  Imperial   Parliament  exercising  the  interference 
which  the  Assembly  had  invoked.    And  it  must  be 
confessed  that,  in  this  respect,  the  Assembly  was  not 
consistent  with  its  general  principles  or  with  those 
contended  for  by  the  popular  party.     It  was  easy  to 
put  the  Assembly  in  the  wrong ;  and  Lord  Glenelg 
made  the  most  of  the  opportunity.    But  with  strange 
inconsistency,  the  Imperial  Government,  in  1840,  as- 
sumed, at  the  dictation  of  the  Bishops,  a  trust  which 
five  years  before  they  had  refused  to  accept  at  the  so- 
licitation of  the  Canadian  Assembly,  on  the  ground 
of  its  unconstitutionality.      Lord  Glenelg  admitted 
that  the  time  might  arrive,  if  the  two  branches  of  the 
Canadian   Legislature  continued  to  disagree  on  the 
subject,  when  the  interposition  of  the  Imperial  Parlia- 


i  '.;! 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


343 


iiicnt  might  become  necessary ;  but  the  time  selected 
for  interference  was  when  the  two  branches  of  the 
local  Legislature  had  for  the  first  time  come  to  an 
agreement,  and  sent  to  England  a  bill  for  the  settle- 
ment of  the  question.  ■'.'■>..,..  J  I 

On  the  question  of  King's  College  and  the  princi- 
ples on  which  it  should  be  conducted,  the  two  Houses 
displayed  an  obstinate  difference  of  opinion,  and  the 
Lieutenant  Governor  was  instructed,  on  behalf  of  the 
King,  to  mediate  between  them.  The  basis  of  the 
mediation  included  &  study  of  Theology;  and  it  was 
impossible  satisfactorily,  in  a  mixed  community,  to  do 
this  with  a  hope  of  giving  general  satisfaction.  This 
college  question  having  once  been  placed  under  the 
control  of  the  local  Legislature,  Lord  Glenclg  could 
not  recommend  its  withdrawal  at  the  instance  of  one 
of  the  two  Houses.      •  ■' ■    ■•''  i-     •  '  •  •> 

The  suggestion  for  establishing  a  Board  of  Audit 
was  concurred  in.  As  a  fear  had  been  expressed  that 
the  Legislative  Council  would  oppose  a  bill  for  such  a 
purpose,  the  Lieutenant  Governor  was  authorized  to 
establish  a  Board  of  Audit  provisionally,  till  the  two 
Houses  could  agree  upon  a  law  for  the  regulation  of 
the  Board.  Lord  Glenelg  objected  to  the  enactment 
of  a  statute  requiring  that  the  accounts  of  the  public 
revenue  should  be  laid  before  the  Legislature^  ixt  a 
particular  time,  and  by  persons  to  be  named ;  since 
this  would  confer  on  them  the  right  to  "  exercise  a  con- 
trol over  all  the  functions  of  the  Executive  Govern- 
ment," and  give  them  a  right  of  inspecting  the  records 
of  all  public  oifices  to  such  an  extent  as  would  leave 
"His  Majesty's  representative  and  all   other  public 


;■•■■■ 


1  h . 


>li.%-: 


344 


LIFE   OF    MACKENZIE,  AND 


.  M 


s  I 


I   }'    ^5   '     1^ 


functionaries  little  more  than  a  dependent  and  subor- 
dinate authority."  Besides,  it  was  assumed  they  would 
be  virtually  irresponsible  and  independent.  At  the 
same  time,  the  Lieutenant  Governor  was  to  be  pre- 
pared at  all  times  to  give  such  information  as  the 
House  might  require  respecting  the  public  revenue 
except  in  some  extreme  case  where  a  great  public  in- 
terest  would  be  endangered  by  compliance. 

Rules  were  even  laid  down  for  the  regulation  of 
the  personal  intercourse  of  the  Lieutenant  Governor 
with  the  House.  He  was  to  receive  their  addresses 
with  the  most  studious  courtesy  and  attention,  and 
frankly  and  cheerfully  to  concede  to  their  wishes,  as 
far  as  his  duty  to  the  King  would  permit.  Should  he 
ever  find  it  necessary  to  differ  from  them,  he  was  to 
explain  the  reasons  for  his  conduct  in  the  most  conci- 
liatory terms.  The  celebrated  dispatch  of  Lord  Go- 
derich,  written  in  consequence  of  the  representations 
inade  by  Mr.  Mackenzie,  while  in  England,  was  to  be 
a  rule  for  the  guidance  of  the  conduct  of  Sir  Francis 
Bond  Head.  Magistrates  who  might  be  appointed 
were  to  be  selected  from  persons  of  undoubted  loyalty, 
without  reference  to  political  considerations. 

On  the  great  question  of  Executive  responsibility 
Lord  Glenelg  totally  failed  to  meet  the  expectations 
expressed  in  the  Grievance  Report  to  which  he  was 
replying.  He  did  more ;  he  assumed  that  "  the  admin- 
istration of  public  affairs,  in  Canada,  is  by  no  means 
exempt  from  the  control  of  a  sufficient  practical  re- 
sponsibility. To  His  Majesty  and  to  Parliament," 
it  was  added,  "  the  Governor  of  Upper  Canada  is  at 
all  times  most  fully  responsible  for  his  official  acts." 


THE  CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


345 


Under  this  system  the  Lieutenant  Governor  might 
wield  all  the  powers  of  the  government,  and  was  even 
bound  to  do  so,  since  he  was  the  only  one  who  could 
be  called  to  account.    The  House  of  Assembly,  if  they 
bad  any  grounds  of  complaint  against  the  Executive, 
were  told  that  they  must  seek  redress,  not  by  demand- 
ing a  removal  of  the  Executive  Council,  but  by  ad- 
dressing the  Sovereign  against  the  acts  of  his  repre- 
sentative.   Every  Executive  councillor  was  to  depend 
for  the  tenure  of  his  office,  not  on  the  will  of  the  Le- 
gislative Assembly,  but  on  the  pleasure  of  the  Crown. 
And  in  this  way  responsibility  to  the  central  autho- 
rity in  Downing  street,  of  all  the  public  affairs  in  the 
Province,  was  to  be  enforced.    The  members  of  the 
local  government  might  or  might  not  have  seats  in 
the  Legislature.     Any  member  holding  a  seat  in  the 
Legislature  was  required  blindly  to  obey  the  behests 
of  the  Lieutenant  Grovernor,  on  pain  of  instant  dis- 
missal.   By  this  means  it  was  hoped  to  preserve  the 
head  of  the  government  from  the  imputation  of  insin- 
cerity, and  conduct  the    administration  with  firm- 
ness and  decision. 

These  instructions  embody  principles  which  might 
have  been  successfully  worked  out  by  a  Governor  and 
Council.  But  they  were  inapplicable  in  the  presence 
of  a  Legislature.  There  was  no  pretence  that  the 
system  was  constitutional,  and  the  elective  chamber 
must  be  a  nullity  when  the  Crown-nominated  Legis- 
lative Council  could  at  any  time  be  successfully  played 
off  against  it.  As  for  responsibility  to  the  Canadian 
people,  through  their  representatives,  there  was  none. 
All  the  powers  of  the  government  were  centralized  in 

44 


IS"! 


i 


t 


t  t 


t 
1 1 


-P 
HI 


hi 


it 


J.!: 


1 


'   il! 


1 


, 


.{* 


kf  ,1 


liliffii  Mil. 


346 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


11! 


1  > 


Downing  street,  and  all  the  Colonial  officers,  from  the 
highest  to  the  lowest,  were  puppets  in  the  hands  of 
the  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies.  At  the  same 
time,  the  outward  trappings  of  a  constitutional  system 
intended  to  amuse  the  colonists,  served  no  other  end 
than  to  irritate  and  exasperate  men  who  had  penetra- 
tion enough  to  detect  the  mockery  and  whose  self- 
respect  made  them  abhor  the  sham. 

On  the  6th  of  March,  1835,  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  House  of  Assembly  Director  of  the 
Welland  Canal  Company,  in  respect  of  the  stock 
owned  by  the  Province.  He  entered  into  a  searching 
investigation  of  the  manner  in  which  the  affairs  of 
the  company  had  been  conducted;  and  if  he  showed 
a  somewhat  too  eager  anxiety  to  discover  faults,  and 
made  some  charges  against  the  officers  and  managers 
of  the  company  that  might  be  deemed  frivolous,  he 
also  made  startling  disclosures  of  worse  than  misman- 
agement. With  the  impatience  of  an  enthusiast,  he 
published  his  discoveries  before  the  time  came  for 
making  his  official  report ;  sending  them  forth  in  a 
newspaper-looking  sheet,  entitled  The  Welland  Caml, 
three  numbers  of  which  were  printed.  A  libel  suit,  in 
which  he  was  cast  in  damages  to  the  amount  of  two 
shillings,  resulted  from  this  publication ;  and  Mr. 
Merritt,  President  of  the  company,  in  the  ensuing 
session  of  the  Legislature,  moved  for  a  committee  to 
investigate  the  charge  brought  against  directors  and 
officers  of  this  company.  It  was  a  bold  stroke  on  the 
part  of  the  President ;  but,  unfortunately  for  the  canal 
management,  the  committee  attested  the  discovery  of 
large  defalcations  on  the  part  of  the  company's  officers. 


THE   CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


347 


Accounts  sworn  to  by  the  Secretary  of  the  company, 
and  laid  before  the  Legislature,  were  proved  to  be 
incorrect*  Large  sums — one  amount  was  £2,500 — 
of  the  company's  money  had  been  borrowed  by  its 
own  officers,  without  the  authority  of  the  Board.  Im- 
provident contracts  were  shamefully  performed.  The 
president,  directors,  and  agents  of  the  company  leased 
water  powers  to  themselves.     The  company  sold,  on 

» In  a  letter  to  Mr  Mackenzie,  dated  Toronto,  September  ICth,  1836,  Mr. 
Francis  llincks,  than  whom  there  was  no  better  judge  of  accounts,  said: 
"A3  to  the  Welland  Oanal  books,  I  have  already  said,  and  I  now  publicly 
repeat  and  am  willing  to  stake  my  character  on  the  truth  of  it,  that  for  several 
years  tbey  are  full  of  false  and  fictitious  entries,  so  much  so  that  if  I  was  on 
oath  I  could  hardly  say  whether  I  believe  there  are  more  true  or  false  ones. 
I  am  persuaded  it  is  impossible  for  an  accountant  who  desires  to  arrive  at 
truth  to  investigate  them  with  any  satisfaction,  particularly  as  the  vouchers 
arc  of  such  a  character  as  to  be  of  little  or  no  service.  "W  ith  respect  to  the 
charges  a;?ainst  the  Welland  Canal  officers,  the  press  and  the  public  seem  to 
have  predetermined  that  unless  Mr.  Merritt  and  othew  were  proved  guilty  of 
an  extent  of  fraud  that  would  have  justly  subjected  them  to  a  criminal  prose- 
cution, tliey  were  to  be  absolved  from  all  blame,  and  to  escape  censure  for 
the  numerous  charges  which  have  been  clearly  proved.  The  conduct  of  the 
press,  and  indeed,  the  House  of  Assembly,  on  this  subject,  has  been  such  as  to 
encourage  a  similar  system  of  managing  the  money  of  the  people,  and,  most 
assuredly,  to  deter  any  individual  from  even  attempting  to  expose  similar 
abuses.  It  has  been  clearly  proved  that  largo  sums  of  money  have  been  lost 
to  the  Company,  and,  of  course,  to  the  Province,  which,  if  the  present  direc- 
tors do  their  duty,  can,  in  great  part,  be  recovered ;  yet  you,  the  person  who 
have  discovered  these  losses,  and  what  is  still  better,  have  exposed  the  system, 
have  been  abused  in  the  most  virulent  manner  from  one  end  of  the  Province 
to  the  other,  and  have  not  obtained  the  slightest  remuneration  for  your  services. 
At  the  same  time  it  is  never  asked,  in  any  of  the  public  prints,  whether  Mr. 
Merritt,  who  was  twice  paid,  (as  is  admitted  even  by  himself,  although  as  ho 
states,  'by  mistake,')  about  $1,000  of  salary  several  years  ago,  has  refunded 
this  money,  or  whether  any  steps  have  been  taken  to  rectify  errors  already 
proved." 

Mr.  Mackenzie  met  a  shower  of  abuse  from  the  men  whose  misconduct  he 
had  exposed.  On  the  floor  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  they  and  their  par- 
tisans treated  him  as  an  enemy  to  the  canal  and  to  the  country ;  deserving,  for 
what  lie  had  done,  only  the  worst  epithets  they  could  heap  upon  him. 


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J 


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1 

liij, 

:■   'l 


^1 

4    J 


V 


i'i 


1,1  I 

I  5        I      , 


I  i 


i 


i! 


ll    • 


I 


1  iilll 

■H 

1 

I  ^njnllHn       t     * ;  ; 

■ 

Ly 

1 

348 


LIFS  OF  MACKENZIE,  AND 


» credit  of  ten  years,  over  fifteen  thousand  acres  of 
lands,  together  with  water  privileges,  for  £25,000 
to  Mr.  Alexander  McDonnell,  in  trust  for  an  alien 
of  the  name  of  Yates ;  allowing  him  to  keep  two 
hundred  acres,  forming  the  town  plots  of  Port  Col- 
borne  and  Allanburg.  A  quarter  acre  sold  at  the  latter 
place  for  $100.  They  repurchased  the  remainder,  for 
which  the  company's  bonds  for  £17,000  were  given  to 
Yates ;  though  all  they  had  received  from  him  was 
eighteen  months'  interest,  the  greater  part  of  which 
he  had  got  back  in  bonuses  and  alleged  damages  said 
to  have  arisen  from  the  absence  of  water  power.  If 
such  a  transaction  were  to  occur  in  private  life,  the 
committee  averred  that  it  "  would  not  only  be  deemed 
ruinous,  but  the  result  of  insanity."  Mr.  George 
Keefer,  while  a  director,  became  connected  with  a  con- 
tract for  the  locks.  A  large  number  of  original  esti- 
mates, receipts,  and  other  important  documents  were 
missing ;  and  no  satisfactory  account  of  what  had  become 
of  them  could  be  obtained.  The  books  were  kept  in  the 
most  slovenly  and  discreditable  manner,  being  blurred 
with  blunders,  suspicious  alterations,  and  erasures. 
The  length  of  the  canal  was  unnecessarily  extended; 
but  if  the  company  suffered  from  this  cause,  individ 
uals  profited  by  the  operation.  Improvident  expen- 
ditures, all  the  worse  in  a  company  cramped  for  means, 
were  proved  to  have  been  made.  One  Oliver  Phelps 
owed  the  company  a  debt  of  $30,000  covered  by  mort- 
gage, which  was  released  by  the  Board  without  other 
satisfaction  than  a  deed  of  some  land  worth  about 
$2,000.  It  was  not  a  case  of  writing  off  a  bad  debt, 
because  the  property  covered  by  the  mortgage  was 


THE  CANADIAN  REBELLIOJT. 


349 


good  for  the  amount.  Over  i^,COO  worth  of  timber 
purchased  by  the  company  and  not  used  was  parted 
with  without  equivalent.  Some  of  it  was  stolen,  some 
used  by  Phelps  who  was  not  charged  with  it,  and 
some  purchased  by  a  member  of  the  Assembly,  Mr. 
Gilbert  M'Micking,  in  such  a  Way  that  the  company 
derived  no  advantage  from  the  sale. 

The  difference  between  Mt.  Mackenzie  and  the 
Committee  of  the  House  was  this :  he  suspected  the 
worst,  in  every  case  of  unfavorable  appearances ;  they 
were  willing  to  make  many  allowances  for  irregularities, 
where  positive  fraud  could  not  be  proved.  The  com- 
mittee carried  their  leniency  further  than  they  were 
warranted  by  the  facts.  In  the  Same  Sentence  in  which 
they  acquitted  the  directors  of  any  intentional  abuse 
of  the  powers  vested  in  them,  they  confessed  them- 
selves unable  to  explain  the  Phelps  transaction. 

The  ludicrous  part  of  this  irvestigation  consists  of 
numerous  items  charged  to  the  contingent  account  by 
Mr.  Merritt,  President  of  the  Company.  A  few 
samples  may  be  given.  "  Play,  3s.  9d. ;"  "  Bavber,  7  hs. ;" 
"Repairing  my  watch,  7s.  6d'"  "Segars  and  Snack." 
"Club  for  gin,  3s.  Ibd.  Club  for  segars.  Is.;"  "Paid 
doctor  for  attendance,  10s."  There  were  whole  columns 
of  such  figures  as  these,  amounting  to  about  $400,  duly 
audited  and  passed  by  the  Board.  But  it  must  be 
admitted  that  even  this  petty  larceny  showed  method 
and  exactness ;  and  if  the  amount  had  been  charged 
as  travelling  expenses,  without  a  ridiculous  detail,  it 
would  probably  not  have  been  challenged.  Certainly  it 
would  not  have  excited  ridicule. 

In  this   investigation,    there   was   employed   as 


!    Nil 


IIh 

ijf 

■  il^fl 

Ijil^H 

' 

^H   HII^^^^I 

■  1 

^^H    MI^^^^^^^I 

1  1^1 

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1 

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1 IIDHH 

1M. 

li'liliUH 

f ' 

ifllliil 

1      '               1    H|4g 

1  i  f'Hpt^l] 

IIIIHII 

t    » ■ffli 
n  III 

it  \  ^^' 

ll  :  ■ 

H    ■ 

i  1  IliH 

n 

1    lll^ffljH' 

Hi^  '^ 

p      ' 

:;.t||ii 

H  iH 

1 

1  H  « 

i   ' 

i  mm 

III  ; 

I  illlli      il^li 

wl       ilWW 

11  n 

1  -       T^TlTnJB 

If  H 

tiil 

lili'  ffilsli 

.:l 

350 


LIFE  OF  MACKENZIE,  AND 


accountant,  a  young  man  of  whose  abilities  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie conceived  a  very  high  opinion ;  so  much  so  that 
he  remarked  to  him,  that  he  should  be  glad  to  see 
him  Inspector  General  of  Public  Accounts  for  Upper 
Canada.  But  he  added  with  sleepless  suspicion,  "  The 
only  question  with  me  is,  whether  you  would  be  proof 
against  the  temptations  of  the  position."  That  ac- 
countant Was  Francis  Hincks.  He  was  afterwards 
Inspector  General  for  United  Canada,  and  leader  of 
the  government ;  then  Governor  of  the  Windward  Is- 
lands, and  is  now  Governor  of  British  Guiana,  with  a 
salary  of  £5,000  a  year,  and  £2,000  for  contingencies. 
}ie  has  fully  justified  the  prevision  of  Mr.  Mackenzie, 
and  risen  by  'the  force  of  his  talents  to  a  higher  posi- 
tion than  the  latter  had  ventured  to  assign  to  him. 

Mr.  Mackenzie  spent  several  months  in  this  inves- 
tigation at  St.  Catharine's,  the  head-quarters  •■"  the 
company.  In  1836,  a  committee  of  the  House  recom- 
mended a  compensation  of  $1,000  for  his  services ;  but, 
as  the  regular  supplies  were  not  granted  that  year, 
the  money  was  not  paid.  The  Canadian  insurrection, 
occurring  towards  the  close  of  1837,  led  to  his  exile 
for  several  years,  in  the  United  States ;  and  as  he  was 
the  last  of  the  exiles  to  whom  the  Royal  clemency  was 
extended,  he  was  not  paid  the  $1,000  till  1851,  and 
then  without  interest.    • 

'  In  November,  1835,  Mr.  Mackenzie  visited  Quebec, 
in  company  with  Dr.  O'Grady.  They  went  as  a  depu- 
tation from  leading  and  influential  Reformers,  in  Up- 
per Canada,  to  bring  about  a  closer  alliance  between 
the  Reformers  in  the  two  Provinces.  In  the  Lower  Pro- 
vince affairs  were  more  rapidly  approaching  a  crisis  than 


THE   CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


Ml 


in  the  West.  The  difficulties  arising  out  of  the  control 
of  the  revenue  had  led  to  the  refusal  of  the  supplies 
by  the  Lower  Canada  Assembly;  and  in  1834,  £31,000 
sterling  had  been  taken  out  of  the  military  chest,  by 
the  orders  of  the  Imperial  Grovernment,  to  pay  the 
salaries  and  contingencies  of  the  judges  and  the  other 
public  officers  of  the  Crown,  under  the  hope  that, 
when  the  difficulties  were  accommodated,  the  Assembly 
would  reimburse  the  amount.  But  the  difficulties, 
instead  of  meeting  a  solution,  continued  to  increase. 
As  the  grievances  of  which  the  majority  in  the  two  Pro- 
vinces complained  had  much  in  common,  the  respec- 
tive leaders  began  to  make  common  cause.  The  Pro- 
vinces had  had  their  causes  of  differences,  arising  out 
of  the  distribution  of  the  revenue  collected  at  Quebec. 
But  the  political  sympathies  of  the  popular  party,  in 
each  Province,  were  becoming  stronger  than  the  pre- 
judices engendered  by  the  fiscal  difficulties,  and  which 
had  acted  as  a  mutual  repulsion.  Mr.  Mackenzie  and 
his  co-delegate  met  a  cordial  and  affectionate  welcome. 
"All  the  liberal  members"  of  the  Lower  Canada  As- 
sembly "flocked  around  them  to  testify  the  sincere 
interest  they  look  in  the  progress  of  good  government 
in  Upper  Canada,  and  to  tender  them  their  hearty  co- 
operation."* This  expression  of  sympathy,  extending 
to  all  classes  of  Reformers,  was  expected  to  prove  to 
the  authorities,  both  in  Canada  and  England,  "  that 
the  tide  is  setting  in  with  such  irresistible  force  against 
bad  government,  that  if  they  do  not  yield  to  it  before 
long,  it  will  shortly  overwhelm  them  in  its  rapid  and 
onward  progress."    Mr.  Mackenzie  was  on  good  terms 

*  Montreal  Vindicator.         i,'     .  .'  •    i 


'''HI 

iffl^nn  wH 

1 H  M 1  HH 

':'^^'''  'I'i 

[  1 H  [  En 

T 1 B    ' 

m                          W^w^M 

■H 1 

^1             PI 

1  i  '111 

1                         wUi  1 

■    .  0 

'!       ■  1 

i  1  •■' ! 

R  H 

1          11 

j  1  '      1  rI'I 

'■    i;"''  '   1     ■   -  ■■ 

t            H  i  'il 

\  ■  1    n'  ; 

\  1            ||i 

il 

■ .;    '    t    ■ 

'If  *!'■ ' 

4       j:  ijj 

^'    il  ^l 

IHhUIiI 

■'     1  i-  >■':! 

S  99HH^Plp^^B '■  '1 

1  -     (          [■  - 

:  ff  Pf|f!'^| 

.       1;    i     ;  i^ 

'1    ■ 

si  W-%\ 

'■\ 

■  !i.j<    '  ■-  ■  .  1 

w\  ■  ;  Il 

'      i  !  ■=,! 

i  '.'    i  iti,  ^'■'-  'i'l 

'  •\.\\ 

'      '     ll''il      •■    :'  1 

'  ::\ 

■  ■p'.i  1  ''•'■'  1 

■  \M 

i  I    Ihi  '■-     I 

'  '■■;'-^ 

■;  ^    iM  h'ji 

i  1  **>■ 

>         r  -  :.  ■      :     :J 

1  'M 

'        1^   H^^"^r> 

■  1  ■■■•! 

mM 

f'  pill 

k        >     '  *' 

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■i       :  i 

t  '-      ,    1.   *    ■        ■ 

.■ ! 

■  P'il  '  i: 

■  ■                   'I 

IM;-/      :Mt 

UlHi   ■  ■ '\v 

I  V'                    ]            '■    S 

i  ?-'  ■■  ■;, 

'     1 

t     '                     f                                                         ! 

r    : 

if,              m; 

t  i  i   \ 

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;.;    ,  t 

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■      *'                 '    'v       .    • 

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I'^i^jll 

|f|jipl|im^^isii 

'Mi 


mm:'  4 


f  n<  ? 


:^^„ 


:.Sv.!U; 


352 


LIFE  OF  MACKENZIE,   AND 


with  Papineau,  whose  word  was  law  in  the  Assembly 
of  Lower  Canada,  of  which  he  was  Speaker,  but  who, 
in  Committee  of  the  Whole,  used  the  greatest  freedom 
of  debate.  This  visit  resulted  in  establishing  a  better 
understanding  between  the  Reformers  of  the  two  Pro- 
vinces.*  Mr.  Mackenzie  has  left  it  on  record  that 
"changes  were  then  in  contemplation,  which  would  in 
a  certain  degree  have  affected  individuals,"  if  gene* 
rally  known ;  but  as  this  statement  was  shortly  after- 
wards published,  it  cannot  be  taken  to  have  reference 
to  tl.<*c  armed  insurrection  which  ultimately  followed. 
To  a  very  late  period,  Mackenzie  and  those  who  acted 
with  him  continued  to  hope  that  the  reforms  for  which 
they  contended  would  be  peaceably  granted,  -'..^ly. 
In  December,  1835,  he  addressed  a  long  letter  to 
Mr.  Hume — which  was  published  just  before  the  elec- 
tions of  the  next  year  took  place — on  the  condition  of 
the  Province.  Its  principal  complaints  were:  that 
jury  trials  were  in  the  hands  of  sheriffs,  who  held 
office  during  the  pleasure  of  the  King;  that  an  exten- 
sive domain  had  been  improvidently  eeded  to  the 

*  In  the  session  of  the  Upper  Canada  Legislature  for  1886,  Mr.  Mackenae 
Cftfried  the  following  reaolution  by  a  large  majority: — "That  it  is  the  desire 
of  this  House  to  cultivate  a  good  understanding  with  Lower  Canada,  and  that 
a  select  committee  be  appointed  to  draft  a  bill  to  this  House,  for  the  Appoint- 
ment of  commissioners  to  meet  any  commissioners  that  may  be  appointed  by 
the  Legislature  of  Lower  Canada,  to  consider  of  matters  of  mutual  importance 
to  both  Provinces,  especially  the  questions  of  boundaries,  trade,  emigration, 
customs'  duties,  and  revenue."  This  resolution  was  in  the  spirit  of  one  of  the 
declared  objects  of  the  "  Canadian  Alliance  Society."  This  year,  Mr.  Pa- 
pineau, the  Speaker  of  the  Lower  Canada  Assembly,  sent  a  long  letter  lo  It, 
Speaker  Bidwell,  of  the  Upper  Canada  Assembly;  in  which  the  principles  of 
Colonial  Government  laid  down  in  Lord  Glenelg's  dispatch  in  reply  to  the 
•'  Grievance  Report"  were  denounced,  and  a  responsible  government  and  »n 
elective  Legislative  Council  declared  to  be  necessary. 


THE   CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


353 


Canada  Company;  that  the  Legislative  Council  con- 
tinued to  reject  the  bills  passed  by  the  Assembly;  that 
the  administration  of  justice  was  in  the  hands  of  a 
party  forming  among  themselves  a  Family  Compact ; 
that,  owing  to  these  circumstances,  property  and  li- 
berty were  held  by  a  very  precarious  tenure ;  that  the 
administration  of  the  government  was  in  the  hands  of 
men,  in  whom  neither  the  people  nor  their  represen- 
tatives had  any  confidence;  that,  as  a  consequence 
of  this  state  of  things,  there  was  little  immigration,* 
and  m?ny  residents  were  thinking  of  quitting  the  Pro- 
vince; that  the  idea  of  successive  Colonial  Secretaries 
had  been  to  govern  the  Province  by  orders  sent  from 
Downing  Street,  to  be  executed  by  agents  selected 
there;  that  there  was  no  means  of  exacting  strict  ac- 
countability for  the  public  moneys ;  that  the  Reformers 
of  both  Provinces  directed  their  exertions  mainly  to 
the  accomplishment  of  four  objects:  an  elective  Legis- 
lative Council,     n  Executive  Council  responsible  to 
public  opinion,  the  control  of  the  whole  Provincial 
revenues,  and  a  cessation  of  interference  on  the  part 
of  the  Colonial  office — "  not  one  of  which,"  he  said, 
"I  believe  will  be  conceded  till  it  is  too  late."f    The 
prediction  proved  correct ;  but  all  these  changes  have 
been  effected  since  the  insurrection  of  1837.     He  ten- 

♦In  1835,  the  immigration  to  Upper  Canada  had  fallen  off  two-thirds  as 
compared  with  the  average  of  former  years. 

f  Though  all  these  objects  have  now  been  carried  into  effect,  Sir  Francis 
Bond  Head  regarded  their  advocacy  aa  proof  of  treasonable  designs.  In  a  dis- 
patch to  Lord  Glenelg,  dated  June  22,  1836,  after  quoting  the  above  passage, 
he  says:  "As  the  Republicans  in  the  Canadas  generally  mask  their  designs  by 
professions  of  attachment  to  the  mother  country,  I  think  it  important  to  r^^cord 
this  admission  on  the  part  of  Mackenzie  of  the  traitorous  object  which  the  .He- 
formers  in  this  Province  have  in  view." 
45 


"■ -'  i, 


m:  f 


.  ? 


1^ '. 


m 


i 


354 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


der  ^d  his  thanks  to  Mr.  Ilumo  for  his  exertions  on 
behalf  of  Canada  in  these  words: 

"  On  behalf  of  thousands  whom  you  have  benefited 
on  behalf  of  the  country  so  far  as  it  has  had  confi. 
dence  in  me,  I  do  most  sincerely  thank  you  for  the 
kind  and  considerate  interest  you  have  taken  in  the 
welfare  of  a  distant  people.  To  your  generous  exer- 
tions  it  is  owing  that  tens  of  thousands  of  our  citizens 
are  not  at  this  day  branded  as  rebels  and  aliens;  and 
to  you  alone  it  is  owing  that  our  petitions  have  some- 
times been  treated  with  ordinary  courtesy  at  the  Co- 
lonial office. 

"  We  have  wearied  you  with  our  complaints,  and 
'occupied  many  of  those  valuable  hours  which  you 
would  have  otherwise  given  to  the  people  of  England. 
But  the  time  may  come  when  Canada,  relieved  from  her 
shackles,  will  be  in  a  situation  to  prove  that  her  chil- 
dren are  not  ungrateful  to  those  who  are  now,  in  time 
of  need,  their  disinterested  benefactors."  •     . 

A  shadowy  idea  of  independence  appears  already 
to  have  been  floating  in  men's  minds ;  and  it  found 
expression  in  such  terms  as  are  employed  in  his  letter 
about  Canada  beinor  relieved  of  her  shackles. 


THE  CANADIAN  BEB£LLION. 


356 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Sir  Francis  Bond  Head  arrives  in  Upper  Canada — His  Speech  on  opening  the 
Legislature — Mackenzie  tries  to  remove  the  Restrictions  or  the  Trade  of 
the  Province — The  House  snub  the  Lieutenant  Governor  in  their  Reply  to 
tiie  Address — Why  wore  Members  of  the  Government  supported  in  u  De- 
parture from  Lord  Goderich's  Dispatch? — Sir  F.  B.  Head  affects  a  Readi- 
ness to  redress  all  Grievances — He  appoints  three  new  Executive  Councillors 
from  the  Liberal  Party — Resignation  of  the  new  Council  because  they  were 
not  consulted  on  the  Affairs  of  the  Province — They  are  sustained  by  the 
House,  and  the  Lieutenant  Governor  sharply  censured — Responsible  Go- 
vernment and  Separation  from  England — The  Lieutenant  Governor  and 
the  "Industrious  Classes" — Pour  new  Executive  Councillors — The  House 
of  Assembly  address  the  Lieutenant  Governor  to  dismiss  them — He  refuses 
—Question  of  Popular  Colonial  Councils — Sir  F.  B.  Head  boasts  of  having 
provoked  a  Disturbance  at  a  Public  Meeting — Stoppage  of  Supplies  and  Re- 
servation of  Money  Bills — Dissolution  of  the  House — Unconstitutional  and 
violent  Means  resorted  to  by  the  Lieutenant  Governor  for  carrying  the 
Elections — He  instructs  the  Colonial  Office  how  to  act — Opposes  the  Sur- 
render of  the  Crown  Revenues  and  denounces  the  Project  of  a  Responsible 
Administration — "  Let  them  come  if  they  dare" — Practical  Joko  on  the 
Lieutenant  Governor — His  strange  Doings  and  his  Contumacy — Mackenzie, 
Bidwcll,  and  Perry  lose  their  Elections — Excitement  at  Mackenzie's  Elec- 
tion—The Influences  arrayed  against  him — He  weeps  over  his  Defeat — Is 
attacked  with  a  dangerous  Illness — His  Protest  not  allowed  to  go  to  an  Elec- 
tion Committee — Proof  of  the  Lieutenant  Governor's  Unconstitutional  In- 
terference in  the  Elections — He  was  required  to  put  in  his  Defence. 

Oi\  the  14tli  January,  1836,  Sir  Francis  Bond  Head, 
whohad  just  arrived  in  the  Province  as  Lieutenant 
Governor,*  opened  the  session  of  the  Upper  Canada 

*Sir  Francis  Bond  Head  afterwards  admitted,  with  admirable  candor,  that 
he  "was  really  grossly  ignorant  of  every  thing  that  in  any  way  related  to  the 


I   >*f 


li 


r;  i    - 

i 

i,  > 

1 

I     1 

l:r 


i, 


•n 


)  yi| 


<Mri 


W 


1  H: 


I'  t    H 


IM!i 


356 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


Legislature.  The  Royal  speech,  in  referring  to  the 
dissensions  that  had  taken  place  in  Lower  Canada 
and  to  the  labors  of  the  Imperial  commissioners  an. 
pointed  to  inquire  into  the  grievances  complained  uf 
assured  the  House  that,  whatever  recommendations 
might  be  made,  as  the  result  of  this  inquiry,  the  con- 
stitution of  the  Provinces  would  be  firmly  maintained. 
As  the  constitution  of  the  Legislative  Council  was  one 
of  the  subjects  of  inquiry,  this  information  could  not 
be  very  consolatory  to  the  Reformers. 

During  the  session,  Mr.  Mackenzie  carried  an  Ad- 
dress to  the  King  on  the  subject  of  the  restraints 
imposed  upon  the  Province  by  the  commercial  legis- 
lation of  the  mother  country.  British  goods  could 
not  pass  through  the  United  States,  on  their  way  to 
Canada,  without  being  subjected  to  the  American  duty; 
and  the  Address  prayed  that  the  Sovereign  would  ne- 
gotiate with  the  Washington  Government,  for  the  free 
passage  of  such  goods.  The  facility  of  transport  thus 
asked  for  was  fully  secured  by  the  United  States  Bond- 
ing Act  passed  ten  years  after.  For  the  purpose 
of  upholding  the  monopoly  of  the  East  India  Com- 

government  of  our  colonies."  He  was  somehow  connected  with  paupers  and 
poor  laws  in  England  when  he  was  appointed  ;  and  was  totally  unfitted  by  ex- 
perience and  temperament  to  bo  Lieutenant  Governor  of  an  important  de- 
pendency of  the  British  Crown.  How  Lord  Qlenelg  could  have  stumbled 
upon  so  much  incapacity  is  as  great  a  mystery  to  the  Canadians,  at  this  day, 
as  it  was  to  Sir  Francis  when,  at  his  lodgings  at  Romney,  in  the  County  of 
Kent,  his  servant,  with  a  tallow  candle  in  one  hand,  and  a  letter  brought  bya 
King's  officer  in  the  other,  enabled  him  to  make  the  discovery  that  ho  hsd 
been  offered  the  Lieutenant  Governorship  of  Upper  Canada.  He  was  in  asound 
sleep  when  the  servant  arrived ;  and  if  other  men  have  found  themselves  fa- 
mous when  th(*y  woke  of  a  morning,  Sir  Francis  Bond  Head  found  himself 
suddenly  roused  up  to  be  informed  that  he  was  on  the  way  to  enforced  greatness. 


THE  CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


3o7 


pfiiiV,  not  an  ounce  of  tea  could  bo  imported  into 
Canada  by  way  of  tbe  United  States.  The  abolition 
of  this  monopoly  was  demanded.  Canadian  lumber 
and  wheat  were  heavily  taxed — 25  cents  a  bushel  on 
the  latter — on  their  admission  into  the  United  States : 
the  same  articles  coming  thence  into  the  Province  were 
free  of  duty.  Mr.  Mackenzie  anticipated  by  eighteen 
vo.nrs  the  Reciprocity  Treaty  of  1854.  The  Address 
prayed  "  that  His  Majesty  would  cause  such  represen- 
tations to  bo  made  to  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  as  might  have  a  tendency  to  place  this  interest- 
insr  branch  of  Canadian  commerce  on  a  footing]:  of  re- 
ciprocity  between  the  two  countries."  Nor  did  he 
stop  here.  He  thought  it  right  that  this  principle  of 
reciprocity  should  be  extended  to  all  articles  admitted 
by  Canada  free  of  duty  from  the  United  States. 

In  those  days,  the  Address  in  answer  to  the  Royal 
Speech  was  no  mere  echo  of  the  statements  and  re- 
commendations contained  in  that  document.  The  oc- 
casion was  frequently  seized  upon  as  a  favorable  one 
for  an  exposition  of  public  grievances.  On  a  number 
of  points,  the  Address,  on  this  occasion,  differed  from 
the  Speech  to  which  it  was  an  answer.  It  went  so  far 
as  directly  to  rebuke  the  Lieutenant  Governor  for  the 
reference  he  had  made  to  Lower  Canada.  "We 
deeply  regret,"  said  the  Address,  "  that  your  Excel- 
lency has  been  advised  to  animadvert  upon  the  affiiirs 
of  the  sister  Province,  which  has  been  engaged  in  a 
long  and  arduous  struggle  for  an  indispensable  ameli- 
oration in  their  institutions  and  the  manner  of  their 
administration.  We  respectfully,  but  firmly,  express 
our  respect  for  their  patriotic  exertions ;  and  we  do 


»l 


>' 


I    ' 


■ii 
fi 


■J 


y\ 


I 


f;. 


t  i-i^ 


!| 


r 


If 


i . 


■.'* 


!Mf 


V:  >l  J 


358 


LIFE   OF  MACKENZIE,   AND 


acquit  them  of  being  the  cause  of  any  embarrassment 
and  dissensions  in  the  country." 

It  was  a  subject  of  frequent  complaint,  in  both 
the  Canadas,  that  the  good  intentions  of  the  Im- 
perial Government  were  thwarted  by  the  agents  se- 
lected to  execute  the  Royal  wishes.  Mr.  Mackenzie 
introduced  a  series  of  resolutions  making  a  complaint 
of  this  nature ;  and  after  it  had  been  verbally  amended, 
on  motion  of  Mr.  Perry,  acting,  no  doubt,  under  the 
suggestion  of  Mr.  Speaker  Bidwell,  an  Address  to 
the  Lieutenant  Governor  was  founded  upon  it.  The 
Address  asked  for  any  dispatches  that  might  serve  to 
explain  the  contradiction  between  the  Royal  instruc- 
tions relative  to  the  dismissal  of  public  officers  when 
they  cease  to  give  a  conscientious  suj^port  to  the  mea- 
sures of  the  government,  and  the  retention  of  persons 
— Mr.  Hagerman  was  mentioned  in  the  original  reso- 
lution— as  legal  advisers  of  the  Crown  and  members 
of  the  Executive  Council,  in  spite  of  their  opposition 
to  many  of  the  Reforms  sanctioned  by  the  Earl  of 
Ripon,  as  Colonial  Secretary.  The  case  of  Mr.  Hag- 
erman, whose  name  was  not  mentioned,  was  described 
as  glaring  in  the  extreme ;  since  he  had  desired  to  send 
back  the  famous  dispatch  of  Lord  Goderich,  after- 
wards Earl  Ripon.  The  Solicitor  General,  during  the 
debate,  denied  that  he  had  gone  to  this  length;  hut 
the  House,  by  a  majority  of  ten,  refused  to  accept  his 
statement  as  correct,  "  We  cannot  reconcile  with  the 
principles  of  our  Constitution,"  the  Address  reads, 
"the  appointment  and  continuance  in  office  of  per- 
sons, as  counsellors  and  advisers  of  the  government, 
who  are  known  to  stand  opposed  to  the  wishes  of  the 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


359 


people  and  the  recommendations  of  His  Majesty,  on 
(Treat  leading  questions  of  Reform,  and  who  do  not 

b 

possess  the  confidence  of  the  people,  and  acquiesce  in 
their  general  political  views  and  policy,  as  expressed 
through  their  representatives."  The  appointment  of 
Mr.  William  Morris,  whose  name  was  struck  out  of 
the  amended  resolutions,  to  a  seat  in  tho  Legislative 
Council,  after  he  had,  as  a  member  of  the  other  branch 
of  the  Legislature,  violently  denounced  the  dispatch 
of  Lord  Goderich,  was  condemned  as  contrary  to  tho 
recommendations  of  the  Canada  Committee  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  in  1828,  and  the  declared  princi- 
ples of  the  Imperial  Government ;  and  as  calculated 
to  increase  the  obstacles  to  Reform.  The  union  of 
legislative  and  judicial  powers  in  the  Chief  Justice, 
who  continued  to  be  Speaker  of  the  Legislative  Coun- 
cil, and  the  presence  in  that  branch  of  the  Legislature 
of  the  Bishop  of  Regiopolis  and  the  Archdeacon  of 
York,  were  spoken  of  in  terms  of  censure.  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie accepted  the  amendment,  and  declared  it  pre- 
ferable to  his  own  resolution. 

In  the  course  of  the  debate  on  this  Address,  Solici- 
tor General  Hagerman  professed  to  give  a  cordial 
assent  to  the  principles  of  Lord  Goderich's  dispatch, 
which,  when  laid  before  the  House  he  had  denounced 
in  unmeasured  terms  ;  and  he  still  charged  his  oppo- 
nents with  revolutionary  designs  because  they  de- 
manded tho  application  of  the  principles  laid  down  in 
that  state  document. 

Sir  Francis  Bond  Head,  unused  to  government, 
had  been  instructed  !)y  the  Colonial  Secretary  in  the 
rules  of  ofiicial  etiquette  and  courtesy  which  he  was  to 


1 


:'  i   lil 


K   ' 

,1^ 


'.  ti 


!    ,, 


I*     . 


f      ' 


HmIi^E?         ' 

n 

■t 

1  > 
'-  K  - 

i  i 

I  ! 

i  h  ^t 

I  )  '  I'  |i 


,»if,  nl 


::  ,!!v4  ■■ 


i  n  > 


MH/I 


360 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


observe.  And  in  answering  this  Address  he  did  not 
assume  that  objectionable  tone  which  shortly  after- 
wards marked  his  utter  unfitness  for  the  position  to 
which  he  had  been  appointed.  In  regard  to  the  re- 
moval of  the  Crown  officers  there  was  a  dispatch 
marked  "  confidential,"  and  which  for  that  reason  he 
did  not  produce.  He  had  no  means  of  explaining  the 
continuance  in  office  of  Solicitor  General  Hagerman, 
further  than  that  his  reinstatement  was  the  result  of 
exculpatory  evidence  offered  by  that  person,  while  in 
England.  The  Lieutenant  Governor  could  require, 
and,  if  necessary,  insist  on  the  resignation  of  officials 
who  might  openly  or  covertly  oppose  the  mfiasures 
of  his  government ;  but  he  would  not  take  a  retro- 
spective view  of  their  conduct,  or  question  the  wisdom 
of  what  had  been  done  by  his  predecessors,  in  this  re- 
spect. The  same  rule  he  applied  to  appointments 
made  to  the  Legislative  Council ;  as  he  could  not  un- 
dertake to  judge  of  the  principles  that  guided  his  pre- 
decessor. Lord  Ripon,  he  considered,  in  giving  his 
opinion  of  the  presence  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Bishop 
and  the  Anglican  Archdeacon  in  the  Legislative 
Council,  had  expressed  no  intention  in  reference  to 
them.  Sir  Francis  confessed,  with  maladroitness,  to 
the  existence  of  dispatches  which  he  did  not  feel  at 
liberty  to  communicate ;  besides  that  already  men- 
tioned, another  dated  Sept.  12,  1835,  and  containing 
observations  on  the  Grievance  Report.  He  asked 
from  the  House  the  consideration  due  to  a  stranger  to 
the  Province,  unconnected  with  the  differences  of 
party,  entrusted  by  his  Sovereign  with  instructions 


(t^.Ni! 


[;.:Ji 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


361 


•'to  correct,  cautiously,  yet  effectually,  all  real  griev- 
ances," while  maintaining  the  Constitution  inviolate. 

During  this  session  an  event  occurred  which,  though 
Mr.  Mackenzie  was  not  directly  connected  with  it,  had 
an  important  bearing  on  the  general  course  of  affairs 
that  was  to  lead  to  the  armed  insurrection,  in  which 
he  was  a  prominent  actor.  It  is  necessary  to  a  clear 
comprehension  of  all  the  circumstances  which  pror 
duced  this  crisis,  that  the  event  should  be  briefly  re- 
lated. 

On  the  20th  of  February,  1836,  Sir  F.  Bond  Head 
called  three  new  members  to  the  Executive  Council  ;* 
Messrs.  John  Henry  Dunn,  Robert  Baldwin,  and  John 
Rolph.f    The  two  latter  were  prominent  members  of 

*  Sir  F.  B.  Head  was  pressed  by  one  of  the  old  members  of  the  Council  to 
appoint  some  additional  members.  The  number,  as  it  stood,  was  only  sufficient 
for  a  quorum,  and  if  one  fell  sick  no  business  could  be  done.  Besides,  Mr. 
Peter  Robinson  had  charge  of  the  public  lands,  and,  as  an  Executive  Councillor, 
was  pjiiced  in  tie  invidious  position  of  having  to  audit  his  own  accounts. 
■When  Sir  F.  B.  Head  arrived,  it  was  believed  that  he  was  going  to  reform  the 
abuses  complained  of,  and  effect  the  desired  changes  in  the  government.  Hand- 
Mils,  on  his  arrival,  were  foolishly  placed  on  the  walls  of  the  city,  doscrib'u^' 
the  new  Lieutenant  Governor  as  a  "tried  Keformer."  The  Tories  were  shy 
and  distrustful.  They  petitioned  the  King  against  the  first  act  of  his  adminis 
tratitin.  Hud  they  not  taken  up  this  hostile  position,  ho  afterwards  declared 
ho  novel'  would  have  gone  to  the  other  party  for  material  to  enlarge  hii; 
Council;  and  he  would  have  appointed  neither  Mr.  Baldwin  nor  Dr.  Roiph. 
But  he  soon  threw  himself  completely  into  the  arms  of  the  Family  Compact ; 
fldo]itO(l  th(dr  designs,  echoed  their  opinions  of  their  opponents,  and  repeated 
their  worst  calumnies,  in  official  dispatches  and  other  state  documents. 

f  Sir  Francis  Bond  Head,  in  An  Address  to  the  House  of  Lords  against  the 
Bill  before  Parliament  for  the  Union  of  the  Canadas,  in  1840,  says  that  when  he 
offered  ofHce  to  Mr.  Baldwin,  the  latter  replied  that  "  he  considered  as  abso- 
iutrdy  nocossary  the  assistance  of  Dr.  Rolph  and  of  Mr.  Bidwell;"  and  if  this 
statement  be  correct,  the  matter  was  compromised  by  one  being  taken  and  the 
other  left.  Rolph  became  a  member  of  the  Executive  Council,  and  Bidwell 
WHS  left  out. 
46 


1 

' 

•i 

i 

' 

■  i 

'1 

i 
t 

,  ,"i 

i     ■ 
\    i 

i 

1 

!    I 


\,i         l< 


[i  ! 


rf  if 

•Hi 


•( 


I 


J  ,  i 


i  '        i 


362 


LIFE    OF    MACKENZIE,  AND 


the  Liberal  party,  and  Mr.  Dunn  had  long  held  the 
office  of  Receiver  General.  Their  appointment  wag 
hailed  as  the  dawn  of  a  new  and  better  order  of  things 
and  the  Lieutenant  Governor  professed,  with  what 
sincerity  will  hereafter  appear,  a  desire  to  reform  all 
real  abuses.  But  it  was  not  long  before  this  hope  was 
disapi^ointed.  On  the  4th  March  the3e  gentlemen, 
with  the  other  three  members  of  the  Executive  Coun- 
cil,''' resigned.  They  complained  that  they  had  in- 
curred the  odium  of  being  held  accountable  for  mea- 
sures they  had  never  advised,  and  for  a  policy  to 
which  they  were  strangers.  It  shows  the  irresistible 
force  which  the  popular  demand  put  forward  by  Mr. 
Mackenzie  and  others  for  a  responsible  admiristm- 
tion  carried  with  it,  that  the  three  Tory  members  of 
the  Council  should  have  joined  in  the  resignation. 
The  current  was  too  strong  to  leave  a  reasonable  hope 
of  their  being  able  to  make  way  against  it.  But  what 
they  shrunk  from  undertaking.  Sir  Francis  Bond 
Head  was  to  try,  by  the  aid  of  more  supple  instru- 
ments, to  accomplish.  The  six  councillors,  on  tender- 
ing their  resignations,  insisted  on  the  constitutional 
right  of  being  consulted  on  the  affairs  of  the  Province 
generally,  and  resorted  to  some  elaboration  of  argu- 
ment to  prove  that  their  claim  had  an  immovable 
foundation  in  the  Provincial  charter. 

The  Lieutenant  Governor,  on  the  other  hand,  con- 
tended that  he  alone  was  responsible,  being  liable  to 
removal  and  impeachment  for  misconduct,  and  that 
he  was  at  liberty  to  have  recourse  to  their  advice  only 
when  he  required  it ;  but  that  to  consult  them  on  all 

*  Messrs.  Peter  llobinson,  George  II.  Markland,  and  Joseph  WeUs. 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


363 


the  questions  that  he  was  called  upon  to  decide  would 
be  "  utterly  impossible."  He,  too,  attempted  to  esta- 
blish his  i^osition  by  reference  to  the  constitutional 
charter  and  other  instruments ;  but  the  House  charged 
him  with  garbling  and  misquoting.  His  political 
theory  was  very  simple.  "  The  Lieutenant  Governor 
maintains,"  he  said,  "  that  responsibility  to  the  peo- 
ple, who  are  already  represented  in  the  House  of  As- 
sembly, is  unconstitutional ;  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
Council  to  serve  him,  not  them."  A  doctrine  that 
was  soon  to  meet  a  practical  rebuke  from  his  of&cial 
superiors  in  England. 

The  answer  of  His  Excellency  was  sent  to  a  select 
committee  of  the  House,  who  made  an  elaborate  Tie- 
port,  in  which  the  Lieutenant  Governor's  treatment 
of  his  Council  was  censured  in  no  measured  terms. 
Tlie  increasing  dissatisfaction  which  had  been  pro- 
duced by  the  maladministration  of  Lieutenant  Gover- 
nors Gore,  Maitland,  and  Colborne,  was  said  to  have 
become  general.  The  new  appointments  to  the  Exe- 
cutive Council  of  liberal  men,  made  by  Sir  Francis 
Bond  Head,  were  stigmatized  as  "a  deceitful  mana3u- 
vre  to  gain  credit  with  the  country  for  liberal  feelings 
and  intentions  when  none  existed  ;"  and  it  was  declared 
to  be  matter  of  notoriety  that  His  Excellency  had 
"given  his  confidence  to,  and  was  acting  under,  the 
influence  of  secret  and  unsworn  advisers."  "  If,"  they 
said,  "  all  the  odium  which  has  been  poured  upon  the 
old  Executive  Council  had  been  charged,  as  His  Excel- 
lency proposes,  upon  the  Lieutenant  Governors,  their 
residence  [in  the  Province]  would  not  have  been  very 
tolerable,  and  their  authority  would  become  weakened 


.  i  u 


11 


I  ill 


■^1 


ti). 


U  '  f 


■■■■■■•  -^ 


M  5-1 


if 


364 


LIFE    OF    MACKENZIE,    AND 


or  destroyed."  The  authority  of  Lieutenant  Gover- 
nor Simcoe,  whose  appointment  followed  close  after 
the  passing  of  the  constitutional  Act  of  1791,  was  ad- 
duced to  show  that  "the  very  image  and  transcript" 
of  the  British  constitution  had  been  given  to  Canada. 
The  Lieutenant  Grovernor  was  charged  with  haviiiff 
"  assumed  the  government  with  most  unhappy  preju- 
dices against  the  country,"  and  with  acting  "  with  the 
temerity  of  a  stranger  and  the  assurance  of  an  old 
inhabitant."  Much  warmth  of  feeling  vus  shown 
throughout  the  entire  Report,  and  the  committee  gave 
it  as  their  opinion  that  the  House  had  no  alternative 
liVii  '■'■  but  to  abandon  their  privileges  and  honor,  and  to 
bef-ray  their  duties  and  the  rights  of  the  people,  or  to 
withhold  the  supplies."*  "All  we  have  done  will 
otherwise,"  it  was  added,  "be  deemed  idle  bravado, 
contemptible  in  itself,  and  disgraceful  to  the  House." 

The  House  adopted  the  Report  of  the  committee, 
on  a  vote  of  thirty -two  against  twenty-one ;  and  thus 
committed  itself  to  the  extreme  measure  of  a  refusal  of 
the  supplies.  To  the  resolution  adopting  the  Report 
a  declaration  was  added  that  a  responsible  govern- 
ment was  constitutionally  established  in  the  Province. 

In  the  debate  on  question  of  adopting  the  Report, 
the  Tories  took  the  grounu  that  responsible  govern- 

*  The  object  of  tho  Assembly,  "n  stoppinsj,  or  r.  cv  restrictinc;,  the  sup- 
T>lit>s.  was  to  embarrass  tho  governnunt.  They  did  not  go  to  the  extent  of 
refusing  aU  money  votes,  but  granted  difTercnt  sums  for  roads,  war  losses,  the 
Post-oflBce,  schools,  and  the  iinprovemcnt  of  navigation.  Twelve  of  th«« 
bills  Sir  Fruncis  B.  Head  reserved,  in  tho  hope  that  ho  would  be  enabW  t« 
en\barrass  the  machinery  of  the  Legislature,  if  they  were  vetot-d  in  Englaiia> 
But,  much  to  his  disgust,  they  were  assented  to  by  his  Sovereign.  When  he 
received  tho  dispatch  containing  tho  assent  to  these  bills,  he  at  flr».t  thought  of 
suppressing  it,  but  on  sober  second  thought  he  transmitted  it  to  the  Legislature. 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


365 


Gover* 
e  after 
kvas  ad- 
iscript" 
Canada. 

having 
y  preju- 
with  the 
f  an  old 
B  shown 
btee  gave 
ternative 
)r,  and  to 
pie,  or  to 
done  will 

bravado, 

House." 
ommittee, 

and  thus 

refusal  of 

e  Report 
le  govern- 

province, 
le  Report, 

e  govern- 

Una;,  tbe  sup- 
I  the  extent  of 
I -war  losses.  tli« 
Ivolvo  of  tlie« 
]  be  pnaW«a  to 
in  Eiigl»i^' 

fir-t  thought  "f 
(ae  Legislataw 


mcnt  meant  separation  froip  England.  "  The  mo- 
ment," said  Mr.  McLean,  "  we  establish  the  doctrine 
in  practice,  we  are  free  from  the  mother  country." 
Assuming  that  the  Imperial  Government  would  take 
this  view  of  the  matter,  Solicitor  General  Hagerman 
covertly  threatened  the  majority  of  the  House  with 
the  vengeance  of  "  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  men,  loyal  and  true."  The  temper  of  both 
parties  was  violent,  for  already  were  generating  those 
turbulent  passions  of  which  civil  war  was  to  be  the 
final  expression. 

In  times  of  excitement  the  slightest  incident  may 
add  fuel  to  the  flames;  and  men,  rendered  keen- 
ly sensitive  by  the  endurance  of  wrongs,  readily  re- 
sent the  most  distant  approach  to  insult.  Sir  Francis 
B.  Head,  having  received  an  Address,  adopted  at  a 
public  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Toronto,  assured 
thcin  that  he  should  feel  it  his  duty  to  reply  with  as 
much  attention  as  if  it  had  proceeded  from  either 
branch  of  the  Legislature  ;  but  that  he  should  express 
lihuself  "  in  plainer  and  more  homely  language." 
This  was  regarded  as  a  slight  to  the  inferior  capacity 
of  the  "  many-headed  monster,"  and  was  resented 
with  a  bitterness  which  twenty  years  were  too  short  to 
eradicate.  The  manner  of  the  Lieutenant  Governor 
gave  as  much  offence  as  his  words.  He  met  the  de- 
putation, surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  military  officers ; 
and  the  members  fancied  that  he  pried  impudently 
into  their  faces,  as  if  he  regarded  them  with  the  sort 
of  curiosity  that  one  would  look  upon  a  collection  of 
orang  outangs. 
They  left  the  Vice-regal  residence,  inspired  by  a 


! : !  M 


n  I 


1^  IhlR!^ 


I 


!  I 


Vf 


P**l 


,:  '  ; 


366 


LIFE   OF    MACKENZIE,   AND 


common  feeling  of  indignation,  at  what  they  conceived 
to  be  intentional  slights  put  upon  them.     It  was  soon 
resolved  to  repay  the  official  insolence  with  a  rejoinder. 
Drs.  Rolph   and   O'Grady   prepared   the   document. 
Instead  of  being  drawn  up  in  the  slip-shod  style  of 
the  Report  of  the  House  Commitiee,  its  biting  sarcasm 
betrayed  a  master  hand.     "  We  thank  Your  Excel- 
lency," said  the  opening  sentence,  "  for  replying  to  our 
Address,  '  principally  from  the  industrious  classes  of 
the  city,'  with  as  much  attention  as  if  it  had  proceeded 
from  either  branch  of  the  Legislature ;  and  we  are 
duly  sensible  in  receiving  Your  Excellency's  reply,  of 
your  great  condescension,  in  endeavoring  to  express 
yourself  in  plainer  and  more  homely  language  pre- 
sumed by  Your  Excellency  to  be  thereby  brought 
down  to  the  lower  level  of   our  plainer   and  more 
homely   understandings."     They   then   pretended  to 
explain  the  deplorable  neglect  of  their  education  by 
the  maladministration  of  former  governments  of  the 
endowment   of   King's   College   University,  and  the 
many  attempts  of  the  Rejiresentative  Chamber,  baf- 
fled by  the  Crown-nominated  Legislative  Council,  to 
apply  three  millions  of  acres  of  Clergy  Reserves  to 
the   purposes   of   general   education.     "  It  is,"  they 
added,  "  because  we  have  been  thus  maltreated,  ne- 
glected, and  despised,  in  our  education  and  interests. 
under  the  system  of  government  that  has  hitherto 
prevailed,  that  we  are  now  driven  to  insist  upon  a 
change  that  cannot  be  for  the  worse."     The  change 
they  desired  to  bring  about  was  "  cheap,  honest,  and 
responsible  government."     The  responsibility  of  the 
Lieutenant  Governor  to  a  government  four  f.housand 


THK  CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


367 


mik'S  distant,  "  and  guarded  by  a  system  of  secret  dis- 
patches, like  a  system  of  espionage,"  which  kept  in 
"  utter  darkness  the  very  guilt,  the  disclosure  of  which 
could  alone  consummate  real  and  practical  responsi- 
bility," had   never,   they  declared,    "saved  a  single 
martyr  to  Executive  displeasure."     Robert  Gourlay 
still  lived  in  the  public  sympathy,  "  ruined  in  his  for- 
tune, and  overwhelmed  in  his  mind,  by  official  injus- 
tice and  persecution ;  and  the  late  Capt.  Matthews,  a 
faithful  servant  of  the  public,  broken  down  in  spirit, 
narrowly  escaped  being  another  victim.     The  learned 
Mr.  Justice  Willis  struggled  in  vain  to  vindicate  him- 
self and  the  wounded  justice  of  the  country ;  and  the 
ashes  of  Francis  Collins  and  Robert  Randal  lie  en- 
tombed in  a  country  in  whose  service  they  suffered 
heart-rending  persecution  and  accelerated  death.   And 
even  Your  Excellency  has  disclosed  a  secret  dispatch 
to  the  minister,  in  Downing  Street  (the  very  alleged 
tribunal  of  justice),  containing  most  libellous  matter 
against  William  Lyon  Mackenzie,  Esq.,  M.  P.  P.,  a 
gentleman  known  chiefly  for  his  untiring  services  for 
his  adopted  and  grateful  country.    We  will  not  wait," 
they  plainly  told  the  Lieutenant  Governor,  "  for  the 
immolation  of  any  other  of  our  public  men,  sacrificed 
to  a  nominal  responsibility,  which  we  blush  we  have 
so  long  endured  to  the  ruin  of  so  many  of  His  Ma- 
jesty's dutiful  and  loyal  subjects."   After  an  elaborate 
argument,  to  prove  the  necessity  of  a  responsible  ad- 
ministration, the  rejoinder  concluded   by  what   Mr. 
Mackenzie,  in  a  manuscript  note  he  has  left,  calls  the 
first  low  murmur  of  insurrection.     "  If  Your  Excel- 
lency," the  menace  ran,  "  will  not  govern  us  upon 


:  S  '1 


II 


111!'"  1 


n  i 


i; 


ij 


r      i; 


-i 


hi 


iLlflffllf 


r..    1^'; 


In         ' 


hk& 


368 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,    AND 


these  principles,  yoii  will  exercise  arbitrary  sway,  you 
will  violate  our  charter,  virtually  abrogate  our  law 
and  justly  forfeit  our  submission  to  your  autiiority " 
There  was  not  yet,  however,  the  most  distant  idea  that 
the  final  issue  would  be  open  insurrection. 

The  rejoinder  being  ready,*  the  next  question  was 
how  it  was  to  be  delivered.  Such  a  document  was 
quite  irregular  in  official  correspondence,  and  a  viola- 
tion of  official  etiquette.  It  was  arranged  that  Mr. 
James  Lesslie  and  Mr.  Ketch  um  should  drive  in  a  car- 
riage drawn  by  a  noble  Arabian  horso  to  Government 
House,  deliver  the  document,  and  retire  before  there 
was  time  for  any  questions  to  be  asked.  They  did  so, 
simply  saying  they  came  from  the  deputation  of  citi- 
zens. 

feir  F.  Bond  Head  did  not  even  know  who  were  the 
bearers  of  the  un'velcome  missile.  He  sent  it,  in  a 
passion,  to  Mr.  George  Ridout,  on  the  speculation 
that  he  had  been  concerned  in  the  delivery.  Mr. 
Ridout  sent  it  back.  It  was  in  type  before  being  dis- 
patched, and  scarcely  had  it  reached  the  Governor 
when  a  printed  copy  of  it  was  in  the  hands  of  every 
member  of  the  House.  The  Lieutenant  Governor 
was  puzzled,  half  stupefied,  and  well  nigh  distracted. 

On  the  14th  March,  four  new  Executive  Council- 
lors were  appointed,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Robert 
Baldwin  Sullivan,  William  Allan,  Augustus  Bald- 
win, and  John  Elmsley.      The  latter  had  resigned 

♦  It  was  signed  by  Jesse  Ketchuin,  James  II.  Price,  James  Lesslie,  Andrew 
McGlushun,  James  Shannon,  Robert  McKay,  M.  McLellan,  Timothy  Par- 
sons, William  Lesslie,  John  Mills,  E.  T.  Henderson,  John  Doel,  John  E- 
Tima,  William  J.  O'Grudy. 


THE   CANAnrAN   REBELLION. 


369 


his  seat  in  the  Executive  Council  sonio  years  be- 
fui'c,  on  the  ground  that   he  could  not  continue  to 
hold  it  and  act  independently  aa  a  Legislative  Coun- 
cillor, though  the  yxrinciple  of  dependence  had  never 
before  been  pushed  to  the  same  extent  as  now.     Three 
davs  after  these  appointments  were  announced,  the 
House  declared  its  "entire  want  of  confidence,"  in 
the  men  whom  Sir  Francis  had  called  to  council  * 
The  vote  was  thirty-two  against  eighteen.     An  A 
dress  to  the   Lieutenant   Governor  embodying  Una 
declaration  of  non-conlidence,  and  expressing  regret 
tliiii  His  Excellency  should  have  caused  the  previous 
Council  to  tender  their  resignation,  while  he  declared 
his  continued  esteem  for  their  talents  and  integrity, 
was  subsequently  passed  on  a  division  of  thirty-two 
against  nineteen.     The  Address  requested  His  Excel- 
lency to  take  immediate  steps  to  remove  the  obnox- 
ious Council.    In  reply  he  said  he  felt  guiltless  of 
having  caused  the  excited  state  of  public  feeling  in 
the  Province,  and  was  not  at  all  disposed  to  listen  to 


!! 


.^'i\ 


n 


l;t 


*  While  these  proceedings  were  going  on,  the  people  were  not  idle  specta- 
tors. A  petition  came  from  Pickering  township,  comphiining  that  the  Lieu- 
tenant Governor  had  "resolved  to  hold  the  powers  entrusted  to  him  by  his 
Sovereign,  to  reduce  British  subjects  to  a  state  of  vassalage,"  and  praying  the 
House  to  address  His  Excellency  to  remove  his  councillors.  As  soon  as  tho 
Executive  Council  resigned,  Sir  Francis  Bond  Head  wrote  to  Lord  Glenelg, 
under  date,  Toronto,  22d  March,  1836,  "Mr.  Mackenzie  and  his  party,  at  an 
immense  expense,  forwarded  to  every  part  of  the  Province"  copies  of  a  circu- 
lur,  to  which  was  annexed  "a  printed  petition  to  tho  House  of  Assembly, 
which  only  required  the  insertion  of  the  name  of  the  township  and  of  the 
subscribers."  This  is  probably  correct,  but  the  authority  of  Sir  Francis  Bond 
Jad  is  never  reliable  when  he  is  speaking  of  persons  whom  he  considered 
I  it  his  sacred  duty  to  revile.  It  is  certain  a  number  of  petitions  of  the  same 
I  purport  as  that  from  Pickering  were  presented  to  tho  House. 
47 


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370 


LIFE  OF  MACKENZIE,   AND 


the  advice  of  the  House,  on  whose  good  sense  he,  at 
the  same  time,  affected  to  be  ready  to  rely.       "f  *  .'  :  i 

The  popular  party  had  unintentionally  given  an 
incidental  sanction  to  the  assumptions  of  the  Lieuten- 
ant Governor,  founded  on  the  dispatch  of  Lord  Glen- 
elg,  on  the  dismissal  of  the  Crown  officers,  in  1833. 
Their  removal  was  the  result  of  their  opposition,  in 
the  Legislature,  to  the  expressed  wishes  of  the  Impe- 
rial Government.  In  procuring  the  annulment  of 
the  bank  charters,  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  not  sustained 
by  the  party  with  whom  he  acted,  and  by  whom  the 
dismissal  of  the  Crown  officers  was  gratefully  accepted. 
It  was  the  misfortune  of  Sir  Francis  Bond  Head  to  be 
required  to  carry  out  the  principle  of  complete  subor- 
dination of  all  the  officers  of  the  local  government  to 
the  Downing  Street  authorities,  at  a  time  when  the  dis- 
position of  the  colonists  to  repudiate  that  system  and 
to  insist  on  the  responsibility  of  the  Executive  Coun- 
cil to  the  Legislative  Assembly,  had  become  irresisti- 
ble. But  he  showed  the  greatest  reluctance  to  devi- 
ate from  this  course  after  he  received  a  confidential  dis- 
patch frorii  Lord  Glenelg,*  laying  it  down  as  a  princi- 
ple that  in  the  British  American  Provinces  the  Exe- 
cutive Councils  should  be  composed  of  individuals 
possessing  the  confidence  of  the  people.  '  Every  Ca- 
nadian who  had  advocated  this  principle  had  been 
set  down  by  Sir  Francis  as  a  republican  and  a  traitor, 
and  the  principle  itself  he  had  denounced  as  uncon- 
stitutional. .   ,      ;.. 

Sir  Francis  Bond  Head  conceived  his  mission  to  be 
to  fight  and  conquer  what  he  called  the  "  low-bred 

*  Dated  September  30,  1886.  .,, 


THE   CAIfADIAN  KEBELLIOX. 


371 


antagonist  democracy."  He  thought  the  battle  was 
to  be  won  by  steadily  opposing  "  the  fatal  policy  of 
concession,"  keeping  the  Tories  in  office,  and  putting 
down  the  party  which  he  indifferently  designated 
Reformers,  Radicals,  and  Rapublicans.  He  thought 
himself  entitled  to  claim  credit  for  having  by  his 
reply  to  "  the  industrial  classes  of  Toronto,"  caused  a 
scene  of  violence  at  a  public  meeting,  at  which,  he 
relates  to  Lord  Glenelg  with  much  satisfaction,  "  Mr. 
Mackenzie  totally  failed  in  gaining  attention,"  and 
Dr.  Morrison,  who  was  then  Mayor  of  Toronto,  "  was 
collared  and  severely  shaken."  "  The  whole  affair," 
he  adds,  "  was  so  completely  stifled  by  the  indignation 
of  the  people,  that  the  meeting  was  dissolved  without 
the  passing  of  a  single  resolution." 

The  Lieutenant  Governor,  who  had  completely 
thrown  himself  into  the  hands  of  the  Family  Com- 
pact, had  other  schemes  for  influencing  the  constitu- 
encies in  favor  of  one  party  and  against  another ;  for 
he  was  not  long  in  resolving  to  dissolve  a  House  that 
voted  only  such  supplies  as  would  subserve  the  pur- 
poses of  the  majority,  while  it  withheld  others  of 
which  the  want  tended  to  embarrass  the  machinery  of 
the  government.*  The  avowed  object  of  reserving 
the  twelve  money  bills  was  to  deprive  the  majority  of 
the  House  of  what  might  be  so  distributed  as  to  con- 
duce to  their  re-election.  On  motion  of  Mr.  Perry  the 
House  had  adopted  the  vicious  principle  of  making 
the  members  of  the  Legislature  a  committee  for  ex- 
pending the  £50,000  road  money  granted ;  and  there 
was  some  point  in  the  observation  of  Sir  F.  B.  Head 

•  The  dissolution  took  place  on  the  28th  May,  1836. 


i; 


i^li 


hi: 


'■{ 


'    ft. 

u 

n 

m 


H 


2''2 


LIFE  OF  MACKENZIE,    AND 


that  this  member's  name  appeared  too  often  in  con- 
nection with  such  expenditures.  But  although  the 
reservation  of  these  money  bills  did  not  lead  to  their 
being  vetoed,  the  etfect  on  the  constituencies  was  the 
same.  The  elections  were  over  before  it  was  known 
that  the  Royal  assent  had  been  given,  in  opposition 
to  the  recommendation  of  the  Lieutenant  Governor, 
who  takes  care  to  make  it  understood  that,  on  this 
question,  he  had  the  concurrence  of  his  Council.  Be- 
fore the  elections  were  announced,  steps,  of  which  Sir 
Francis  B.  Head  appears  to  have  been  cognizant,  were 
taken  for  procuring  petitions  in  favor  of  a  dissolu- 
tion of  the  House.  Perhaps  they  were  suggested  by 
himself  or  his  Council.  Certain  it  is  that  he  had 
timely  warning  of  petitions  in  process  of  being  signed, 
some  time  before  they  were  presented.  The  Tory 
press  divided  the  country  into  two  parties:  one  of 
whom  was  represented  to  be  in  favor  of  maintaining 
the  supremacy  of  the  British  Crown  in  the  Province, 
and  the  other  as  being  composed  of  traitors  and  re- 
publicans. This  representation  was  transferred  from 
partisan  newspapers  to  official  dispatches  and  replies 
to  admiring  addresses.  Timid  persons  were  awed  into 
inactivity ;  not  thinking  it  prudent  to  appear  at  the 
polls,  where  their  presence  would  have  caused  them 
to  be  branded  as  revolutionists.  The  Tories  sub- 
scribed largely  for  election  purposes;  votes  were 
manufactured  and  violence  resorted  to.*        -  n 


*  "The  circumstances  under  which  they  (the  members  of  the  House)  were 
elected,  were  such  as  to  render  them  peculiarly  objects  of  suspicion  and  re- 
proach to  a  large  number  of  their  countrymen.  They  are  accused  of  having 
violated  their  pledges  at  the  election."     "In  a  number  of  instances,  too,  the 


THE  CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


373 


By  such  means  was  Sir  F.  B.  Head  enabled  to  boast 
of  the  perilous  success  he  had  achieved.  He  had  done 
everything  upon  his  own  responsibility ;  having  never 
consulted  the  Imperial  Government,  to  whose  direc- 
tions he  professed  to  feel  it  his  duty  to  pay  implicit 
obedience.  He  had  written  to  Lord  Glenelg,  inform- 
ing him  that  it  was  his  intention  to  dissolve  the  House ; 
and  instructing  him — as  if  he  were  the  superior — to 
send  him  no  ordjsrs  on  the  subject.  Nor  was  this  the 
only  occasion  on  which  he  undertook  to  transmit  his 
orders  to  Downing  Street.  When,  in  the  spring  of 
1836,  Mr.  Robert  Baldwin,  one  of  his  late  councillors, 
started  for  England,  Sir  F.  B.  Head  described  him  to 
Lord  Glenelg  as  an  agent  of  the  revolutionary  party, 
and  expressed  a  wish  that  he  might  not  be  received  at 
the  Colonial  Office;  adding  a  suggestion  that  if  he 
should  make  any  application  he  should  be  effectually 
snubbed  in  a  letter  in  reply,  which  should  be  trans- 
mitted to  Canada  for  publication.  He  denounced  to 
the  Colonial  Minister  the  project  of  surrendering  to 
the  control  of  the  Canadian  Legislature  the  casual  and 
territorial  revenues;  being  desirous  of  keeping  the 
Executive,  as  far  as  possible,  financially  independent 
of  the  popular  branch  of  the  Legislature.  He  quar- 
relled with  the  Commission  of  Inquiry,  which  had 
been  sent  to  Canada,  headed  by  Lord  Gosford,  for  re- 


:  r 


elections  were  carried  by  the  unscrupulous  exercise  of  the  influence  of  the  go- 
vernment, and  by  a  display  of  violence  on  the  part  of  the  Tories,  who  were 
emboldened  by  the  countenance  afforded  to  them  by  the  government ;  that 
such  facts  and  such  impressions  produced  in  the  country  an  exasperation  and 
a  despair  of  good  government,  which  extended  far  beyond  those  who  had  actu- 
ally been  defeated  at  the  poll." — JSarl  Durham' »  Report  on  the  Affairt  of  British 
Xor  A  America.  "    '  ^■-      •' 


374 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


commending  that  the  Executive  Council  should  be 
made  accountable  to  public  opinion  ;  and  assured  the 
Imperial  Government  that  the  project  was  pregnant 
with  every  species  of  danger.  When  he  received  a 
confidential  dispatch  from  Lord  Grlenelg,  acquainting 
him  that  this  course  had  been  determined  on,  he  be- 
came half  frantic;  and  on  the  publication  of  a  dis- 
patch from  Sir  Archibald  Campbell,  Lieutenant  Go- 
vernor of  New  Brunswick,  directing  him  to  increase 
the  number  of  his  councillors,  and  to  select  them  from 
persons  possessing  the  confidence  of  the  people,  he 
vented  his  disappointment  by  declaring  that  "  the  tri- 
umph which  the  loyal  inhabitants  of  our  North  Ameri- 
can colonies  had  gained  over  the  demands  of  the  Re- 
publicans was  not  only  proved  to  be  temporary,  but 
was  completely  destroyed."  He  carried  his  indis- 
cretion to  an  inconceivable  extent.  The  Province,  he 
openly  declared,  was  threatened  with  invasion  from  a 
foreign  enemy ;  and  he  proceeded  to  throw  out  a  de- 
fiant challenge  to  this  imaginary  foe.  "  In  the  name 
of  every  regiment  of  militia  in  Upper  Canada,"  he 
said,  "  I  publicly  promulgate,  let  them  come  if  they 
dare."  This  piece  of  audacious  folly  made  him  the 
subject  of  a  remarkable  practical  joke.  A  deputation, 
headed  by  Mr.  Hincks,  waited  on  him  to  inquire  from 
what  point  the  attack  was  expected ;  the  inference  be- 
ing that  they  desired  to  know  in  order  that  they  might 
be  prepared  to  repel  the  invaders.*    If  the  Lieutenant 

*  "  We,  the  undersigned  electors  of  the  City  of  Toronto,"  the  address  ran, 
"having  read  in  your  Excellency's  answer  to  the  address  of  certain  electors 
of  the  Home  District  the  following  language  : — '  They  (the  people  of  Toronto) 
are  perfectly  aware  that  there  exist  in  the  Lower  Province,  one  or  two  indi- 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


375 


Governor  did  not  see  that  he  was  quizzed,  he  felt 
thrust  into  a  corner;  and  his  face  crimsoned  with  in- 
dignation at  the  impertinent  inconvenience  of  the  in- 
quiry. His  dispatches  contain  a  mixture  of  insolent 
dictation,  intended  for  advice,  and  a  craven  fear  of  the 
disapproval  of  his  superiors. 

The  fate  of  British  dominion  in  America,  he  assured 
the  Colonial  Minister,  depended  upon  his  ruinous 
advice  being  taken,  and  his  mad  acts  sustained.  Se- 
veral times  it  was  necessary  to  curb  him ;  and  once 
he  made  an  inferential  rather  than  a  direct  tender  of 
his  resignation.  He  dismissed  Mr.  George  Ridout 
from  the  offices  of  Colonel  of  the  Militia,  Judge  of  the 
District  Court  of  Niagara,  and  Justice  of  the  Peace,  on 
the  pretence  that  he  was  an  active  member  of  the  Al- 
liance Society,  who  had  issued  an  address  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  resignation  of  the  late  Executive  Council, 
which  contained  words  personally  oflfensive  to  the 
Lieutenant  Governor  ;*  and  when  this  charge  was 


viduaU  who  inculcate  the  idea  that  this  Province  is  about  to  he  disturbed  by 
the  interference  of  foreigners  whose  powers  and  whose  numbers  will  prove  in- 
vincible. In  the  name  of  every  Begiment  of  Militia  in  Upper  Canada,  I  pub- 
licly promulgate,  ^Let  them  come  if  they  dare.^  We  do  not  doubt  the  readi- 
ness with  which  would  be  answered  upon  any  emergency  your  appeal  to  the 
Militia,  which  appeal  we  are  satisfied  would  not  have  been  made  without  ade- 
quate cause.  In  a  matter  so  seriously  affecting  the  peace  and  tranquillity  of 
the  country  and  the  security  of  its  commerce,  we  beg  to  learn  from  your  Ex- 
cellency from  what  quarter  the  invasion  is  alleged  to  be  threatened." 

•  The  document,  to  which  exception  was  taken,  is  subjoined ;  the  par- 
ticular wordc  deemed  most  offensive  being  in  those  in  italics: — "The  dif- 
ference between  Sir  Francis  Bond  Head  and  the  House  of  Assembly,  growing 
out  of  the  resignation  of  the  late  Executive  Council,  has  led  to  a  dissolution  of 
Parliament.  The  unanimous  representation  of  the  late  Executive  Council,  se- 
verally signed  by  the  Hon.  Peter  Robinson,  Hon.  G.  H.  Markland,  Hon.  Jo- 
seph Wells,  Hon.  J,  H.  Dunn,  and  Robert  Baldwin  and  John  Rolph,  Esquires, 


376 


LIFE   OF  MACKENZIE,   AND 


proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  Lord  Glenelg  to  be  ground- 
less, he  refused  to  obey  the  order  of  the  Colonial  Min- 
ister to  restore  Mr.  Ridout  to  office.  When  the  only 
charge  made  against  Mr.  Ridout  had  been  disproved, 
he  trumped  up  seven  others — none  of  which  had  been 
communicated  to  Mr.  Ridout  for  explanation — taking 
the  ground  that  he  neither  deemed  an  inquiry  neces- 
sary, nor  that  the  person  dismissed  should  be  made 
acquainted  with  the  grounds  of  his  dismissal.  On 
both  these  points  the  Lieutenant  Governor  met  the 
opposition  of  Lord  Glenelg.*  He  refused  to  obey  the 
instructions  of  the  Colonial  Secretary  to  appoint  Mr. 
Marshall  Spring  Bid  well  to  a  judgeship  in  the  Court 

we  declare  to  be  moderate,  just,  and  constitutional.  The  refusal  of  Sir  F.  B. 
Head  to  allow  the  Executive  Council  to  discharge  the  duties  obviously  belong- 
ing to  their  office,  and  imposed  by  their  oath,  of  advising  the  Lieutenant  Go- 
vernor upon  our  public  affairs,  preparatory  to  his  final  and  discretionary  action 
upon  those  affairs,  betrays  a  disposition  as  a  stranger  to  conduct  the  govern- 
ment in  an  arbitrary,  unsafe,  and  unconstitutional  manner,  which  the  House 
of  Assembly,  unless  traitors  to  us,  could  not  sanction  or  grant  supplies  to  up- 
hold. The  fifty-seven  Rectories  could  not  by  law  have  been  established  with- 
out the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Exec  rive  Council  of  the  Province;  and 
their  recent  establishment  and  endowmeat  wiith  their  exclusive  ecclesiastical 
and  spiritual  rights  and  privileges,  is  a  practical  and  melancholy  proof  of  the 
indispensable  necessity  of  a  good  and  honest  Executive  Council,  alike  possess* 
ing  the  confidence  of  the  King  and  the  people.  It  it  our  duty  tolemnhf  to  as- 
sure you,  that  the  conduct  of  Sir  Francis  Bond  Head  has  been  alike  a  disregard  of 
constitutional  govemmmt  and  of  candor  and  truth  in  his  statements  to  you.  We 
therefore  appeal  to  you  most  earnestly  not  to  abandon  your  faithful  Represen- 
tatives at  the  approaching  contest,  but  by  your  manly  conduct  prove  yourselves 
worthy  of  good  government  and  honest  public  servants."  So  far  from  Mr. 
Ridout  being  a  member  of  the  Alliance  Society,  he  had  opposed  its  establish- 
ment, when  Mr.  Mackenzie  proposed  the  resolutions  on  which  it  was  based. 

•  "  I  am  unaware,"  wrote  Lord  Glenelg  to  Sir  F.  B.  Head,  April  5, 1887, 
'<  of  so  much  as  a  single  instance  in  which  a  public  officer  has  been  dismissed 
as  a  punishment,  and  on  the  ground  of  miscondnct,  without  the  most  explicit 
disclosure  to  him  of  the  reasons  by  which  his  superior  vindicated  such  an  ex- 
ercise of  authority- 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


377 


of  Queen's  Bench ;  and  when  he  had  don?  his  best  to 
drive  men  into  rebellion  he  claimed  credit  for  his  fore- 
sight in  having  pointed  out  their  traitorous  intentions. 
Messrs.  Mackenzie,  Bidwell,  and  Perry,  were  among 
the  members  of  the  popular  party  who  failed  to  secure 
a  re-election.  It  was  the  first  election  at  which  the 
county  of  York  had  been  divided  into  Ridings.  Mr. 
Mackenzie  stood  for  the  Second  Riding,  having  for 
opponent,  Mr.  Edward  Thompson,  a  negative  sort  of 
man,  without  decision  enough  to  make  him  a  very 
decided  partisan.*  •  A»  he  had  not  energy  enough  to 
be  bitter,  many  timid  voters,  alarmed  by  the  cries  of 
revolution  raised  by  the  Lieutenant  Governor  and  the 
Family  Compact,  thought  that  if  they  voted  at  all, 
it  would  be  safest,  if  not  best,  to  vote  for  him.  He 
obtained  four  hundred  and  eighty-nine  votes ;  Macken- 
zie, three  hundred  and  eighty-nine.  Just  before  the 
election,  there  had  been  a  sale  of  lots  by  the  Govern- 
ment, at  the  mouth  of  the  River  Credit.  They  were 
mostly  divided  into  quarter  acres,  and  were  sold  for 
$32  each.  Some  of  the  patents  were  issued  during  the 
election ;  others  only  a  few  days  before.  But  this  did 
not  turn  the  scale  of  the  election ;  for  in  the  list  of 
voters,  I  find  only  four  who  voted  for  Mr.  Thompson 
on  lots  at  Port  Credit.  About  an  equal  number  of 
votes  offored  for  Mr.  Mackenzie  were  turned  away  on 
what  appear  to  be  frivolous  grounds.  If  such  great 
pains  had  not  been  taken  by  Mr.  Thompson's  friends 
to  prevent  a  scrutiny,  there  might,  looking  at  the  dis- 
parity in  the  number  of  votes  received  by  the  two 

*  He  passed  fbr  a  modified  Liberal  at  the  election,  which  was  a  great  advan- 
tage to  hioi;  and  acted  with  the  Family  Compact  when  he  got  into  the  Houae. 
48 


378 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


candidates,  have  been  some  reason  for  concluding  that 
Mr.  Mackenzie  was  beaten  by  a  majority  of  legal 
votes.  Nothing  but  a  scrutiny  could  have  settled 
the  point  in  dispute.  There  was  said  to  have  been  a 
suspiciously  large  increase  in  the  number  of  voters. 

The  unscrupulous  influence  of  the  Government  in 
the  election,  attested  by  the  Earl  of  Durham's  Report, 
is  beyond  question.  Streetsville  was  the  polling 
place  for  the  Second  Riding  of  York ;  and  violence 
was  apprehended  on  the  day  of  nomination.  A  pro- 
cession of  Orangemen,  an  organization  with  whom 
Mr.  Mackenzie  was  on  ill  terms,  took  place ;  the 
"Boyne  Water,"  "Protestant  Boys,"  and  "Croppies 
Lie  Down,"  being  played  by  the  band.  They  after- 
wards drew  up  in  line  at  a  point  where  it  was  neces- 
sary for  Mackenzie  to  pass.  Several  were  provided 
with  loaded  fire-arms,  on  both  sides.  One  Switzer,  a 
man  of  enormous  muscular  power,  led  the  way  through 
the  lines;  and  Mr.  Mackenzie  followed  unharmed. 
He  delivered  a  speech  much  more  calculated  to  excite 
than  to  soothe  the  hostile  crowd,  and  which  shows  that 
the  idea  of  the  possibility  of  England  losing  the  Pro- 
vince by  misgovernment  was  floating  in  his  mind.* 


*  Prom  this  speech,  delivered  on  the  27th  June,  I  give  an  extract:  "  When 
I  last  met  you  here  I  told  you  the  causes  of  our  difficulties,  and  showed  you 
how  far  they  might  he  removed  hy  the  concessions  or  interposition  of  the 
British  Government.  I  regret  to  say  that  all  the  efforts  of  the  Reformers 
during  the  last  two  years  have  only  gone  to  show  that  the  Government  is  ahove 
all  law ;  that  a  person,  living  in  one  of  the  streets  of  London  is  the  autocrat 
of  Upper  Canada  ;  and  that  the  people's,  representatives  have  neither  power 
nor  influence  to  promote  education,  encourage  trade,  redress  grievances,  secure 
economy,  or  amend  your  laws  and  institutions.  I  have  been  diligent  in  the 
Legislature ;  every  proposition  calculated  to  make  you  happier  I  have  sup- 
ported ;  and  whatever  appeared  to  me  to  be  against  popular  government  and 


THE   CANADIAN   REBKLLION. 


879 


It  was  saiM  that  ho  was  opposed  by  Bank  as  well  as 
Government  influence ;  and  this  seems  not  improbable, 
since  he  had  procured  the  disallowance  of  two  bank 
charter  bills,  when  he  was  in  England.*     Complaints 

the  permanent  interests  of  the  many  I  ha^e  opposed,  please  or  offend  whom  it 
might.  The  result  is  against  you.  You  are  nearer  having  saddled  on  you  a 
dominant  priesthood ;  your  public  and  private  debt  is  greater ;  the  public  im- 
provements made  by  Government  are  of  small  moment ;  the  chartered  Banks 
and  the  Canada  Company  have  you  more  and  more  under  their  control ;  the 
priests  of  the  leading  denominations  have  swallowed  bribes  like  a  sweet  morsel ; 
the  revenues  of  your  country  are  applied  without  your  consent;  the  principle 
that  the  Executive  should  be  responsible  to  public  opinion  and  acceptable  to 
the  people  is  denied  to  your  use,  both  by  the  Governor  here,  and  by  his  em- 
ployers elsewhere ;  the  means  to  corrupt  our  elections  are  in  the  hands  of  the 
adversaries  of  popular  institutions,  and  they  are  using  them  ;  and  although  an 
agent  has  been  sent  with  the  petitions  of  the  House  of  Assembly  to  the  King 
and  House  of  Commons,  I  dare  not  conceal  from  you  my  fears  that  the  power 
that  has  oppressed  Ireland  for  centuries  will  never  extend  its  sympathies  to 
you.  It  will  seek  to  elevate  the  few,  who  are  suitable  instruments  for  your 
subjugation,  in  order  that  (like  the  Canada  Company,  Thomas  Clark's  jC100,000 
estate,  John  McGill's  £50,000,  and  I  might  add,  Colonel  Talbot's  vast  accum- 
ulation) such  men  may  will,  or  take  their  wealth  elsewhere,  to  impoverish  you. 
Look  into  the  history  of  our  race: — 'Ages  pass,  and  leave  the  poor  herd,  the 
mass  of  men,  eternally  the  same — hewers  of  wood  and  drapers  of  water.'  I 
have  taken  less  pains  to  be  elected  by  you  this  time  than  I  ever  did  before,  and 
the  reason  is,  I  do  not  feel  that  lively  hope  to  be  able  to  be  useful  to  you  which 
I  once  felt.  On  this  subject  I  spoke  my  mind  with  great  frankness  at  Cooks- 
ville,  when  I  told  you  that  the  country  was  beginning  to  lose  all  hope  from 
Reform  majorities  under  this  government,  and  that  I  feared  the  result  of  the 
elections  would  show  that  it  was  so.  We  are,  of  course,  to  wait  for  the  answer 
to  our  petitions  to  England.  If  it  be  favorable,  it  will  be  our  duty  to  uphold 
the  system  of  monarchical  government,  modified,  of  course,  by  the  removal  of 
that  wretched  playhouse,  the  Legislative  Council,  together  with  the  mounte- 
banks who  exhibit  on  its  boards.  If  the  reply  be  unfavorable,  as  I  am  appre- 
hensive it  will,  for  the  Whigs  and  Tories  are  alike  dishonest,  contending  fac- 
tions of  men  who  wish  to  live  in  idleness  upon  the  labors  of  honest  industry, 
then  the  Crown  will  have  forfeited  one  claim  upon  British  freemen  in  Upper 
Canada,  and  the  result  it  is  not  difficult  to  foresee."  j     v 

*  One  of  these  related  to  the  Commercial  Bank  of  the  Midland  District ;  and 
the  story  told  is  that,  about  a  month  previous  to  the  election,  the  managers  of 
the  branch  of  this  bank,  at  Toronto,  sent  for  Attorney  General  Hagerman, 


I 

■ 


Ir.- 


r-i 


m 


iU 


880 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND  ' 


of  bribery  were  also  made ;  and  if  they  were  well 
founded,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  money 
formed  part  of  the  official  election  fund  subscribed  in 
Toronto.  After  the  desperate  policy  resorted  to  for 
the  purpose  of  ejecting  Mr.  Mackenzie  from  a  previous 
Legislature,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  any  effort 
would  be  spared  to  prevent  his  return.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  the  improper  use  of  official  influence 
was  the  main  cause  of  the  election  resulting  as  it  did. 
Besides  the  intimidation  so  generally  practised,  at 
these  elections,  the  sheriff  of  the  county,  Mr.  Jarvis, 
was  at  Streetsville,  interfering  in  a  manner  that  had 
been  strongly  condemned  years  before  by  Lord  Gode- 
rich.  He  insisted  on  swearing  Mr.  Mackenzie  to  his 
qualification,  a  second  time,  till  the  Returning  Officer, 
Mr.  Hepburn,  who  was  a  strong  partisan  of  the  Family 
Compact,  was  obliged  to  interfere,  and  declare  that  the 
qualification  had  already  been  sufficiently  attested.  I 
do  not  wish  to  repeat  a  possible  calumny ;  and  I  should 
not  have  ventured  to  give  new  currency  to  the  state- 
ment that  the  Lieutenant  Governor  had  thrown  out 
hints  that  a  worse  thing  than  a  riot  might  happen,  had 
he  not,  in  his  official  communications  with  the  Colo- 
nial Office,  already  taken  credit  for  having  aroused  a 
feeling  that  produced  violence  at  a  public  meeting. 

took  him  into  the  bank  parlor,  and  Mr.  John  Ross  the  cashier,  in  presence  of 
the  others,  handed  him  a  large  number  of  notes  due  to  the  bank  by  persons 
living  in  this  constituency,  and  gave  him  distinct  and  positive  instructions  to 
be  very  lenient  with  every  debtor  who  would  pledge  himself  to  vote  against 
Mackenzie,  but  «*  to  put  the  screws  on  "  every  one  of  them  who  refused  to 
pledge  himself.  It  was  said  that  a  like  policy  was  pursued  by  the  Bank  of 
Upper  Canada,  whose  amended  charter  Mr.  Mackenzie  had  caused  to  be  ve- 
toed in  England.  But  Btories  of  this  kind  must  always  be  received  wiUi  soin9 
degree  of  allowance.  "'   ■  •  ■<  .  ^' » 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


381 


He  himself  rode  out  to  the  polling  place  during  tlie 
election.    A  clergymen  offered  a  vote,  to  the  validity 
of  which  he  refused  to  make  oath;"*  and  the  voters 
were  sharply  questioned  on  both  sides. 
.  Mr.  Mackenzie's  mortification  at  a  result  which  >:*) 

*  The  following  scene  occurred :  The  Reverend  Thomai  Fhillipa,  D.  D., 
Rootor  of  Etobicoke,  ChaplBin  to  the  Houae  of  Aaiembly,  iate  Profeiaor  \n 
King's  College,  Toronto,  presented  himself  and  offered  to  vote.  After  hit 
property  had  been  described  and  entered  on  the  poll-book,  the  following  in- 
quiry was  made ; 

Mr.  Maeketuie, — "I  think  I  saw  your  reverence  standing  in  the  rain  the  other 
day,  up  to  the  ankles  in  mud,  waiting  to  edge  in  a  non-resident  vote  for  Mr. 
Draper,  I  dare  say  you  have  been  going  the  rounds  of  the  county,  since,  to  up- 
hold '  the  Constitution,'  and  as  it  is  probable  you  have  your  deed  about  you,  I 
wish  you  would  produce  it. 

Dr.  Phillipi. — (Producing  his  deed.) — "I  have  a  good  Utle,  or  I  would  not 
have  taken  the  pains  to  come  here. 

Mr.  MaekmMie. — "  I  find  that  you  have  bought  this  half  or  quarter  acre  of  a 
sand  bank  for  £8,  a  year's  interest  on  which  is  eight  shillings  Are  there  any 
buildings? 

Dr.  Phillipt. — •'  There  are  none. 

Mr.  Mackemie. — "  No  buildings  1    How  then  is  your  income  obtained  ? 

Dr.  Phillipt. — "  I  rented  the  property  last  year  for  a  dollar ;  but,  this  year, 
the  times  are  so  bad  that  I  have  left  the  woman  have  it  for  nothing. 

Mr.  Maeketuie. — "  You  have  been  paid  for  teaching  others  what  the  English 
Constitution  is  for  a  number  of  years;  you  have  known  what  a  40«.  freeholder 
means  for  these  forty  years  back  at  least ;  you  belong  to  an  order  who  live  sump- 
tuously at  the  expense  of  the  community,  and  enjoy  fat  rectories,  the  value  of 
which  is  enhanced  by  the  farmer's  labor,  and  you  are  here  to-day  to  uphold 
your  order  by  voting  me  out  of  the  House.  I  shall  make  your  own  conscience 
the  umpire  between  us — the  inward  monitor  shall  decide.  Did  you,  when  you 
came  here,  for  one  moment  believe  you  had  a  right  to  vote?  Did  you  not 
rather  hope  to  edge  in  a  bad  vote  on  account  of  the  respectability  of  your  per- 
sonal appearance?  If  you  think  you  are  an  elector  of  this  Riding,  take  the 
constitutional  oath  as  such,  and  then  you  may  vote;  but  remember  I'll  look 
carefully  into  the  matter  next  session. 

Setuming  Officer. — "  The  oath  is  as  follows :-—        .  , .- . . 

Dr.  Phillips. — «'Stcp.  stop,  I  won't  swear  to  my  freehold.  Really,  Mr. 
Mackenzio,  you  are  toe  sharp  upon  me."  And  the  reverend  gentleman,  who 
was  brother-in-law  of  the  Sherilf  of  the  Home  District,  gathered  up  his  papers, 
slunk  down  stairs,  pnd  deferre<]  the  oath  and  his  vote  till  another  occasion. 


382 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


1! 


1  ! 


believed  to  have  been  brought  about  by  improper 
means,  was  extreme.  He  retired  with  a  few  of  his 
supporters  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Graham,  in  Streetsville, 
and  wept  like  a  child.  Such  was  the  power  of  sym- 
pathy, that  several  of  the  friends  who  were  present, 
wept  with  him.  .,    .    _<   .   .     <  .  .  i^,* 

About  the  time  of  the  commencement  of  the  first 
Legislative  session,  which  took  place  on  the  eighth  of 
^NTovember,  1836,  after  the  House  had  been  elected, 
Mr.  Mackenzie  was  taken  dangerously  ill  of  inflam- 
matory fever,  followed  by  inflammation  of  the  lungs 
and  pleura,  brought  on  by  his  taking  cold.  It  says 
much  for  his  constitution  that  he  was  enabled  to 
escape  with  his  life  from  the  hands  of  four  doctors, 
Barclay,  of  the  garrison,  Widmer,  Rolph,  and  Telfer, 
who  dosed  him  with  seventy  or  eighty  grains  of  calo- 
mel ;  but  it  must  be  admitted  that  they  were  all  men 
of  repute  in  their  profession.  On  the  23d  of  Novem- 
ber, he  was  pronounced  convalescent;  but  his  ultimate 
recovery  was  slow. 

Petitions  against  the  return  of  any  member,  whose 
seat  it  is  intended  to  contest,  are  required  to  be  pre- 
sented within  fourteen  days  of  the  commencement  of 
the  session.  On  the  13th  December — one  month  and 
five  days  after  the  session  had  commenced — Dr.  Mor- 
rison, on  producing  medical  certificates  of  Mr.  Macken- 
zie's illness,  obtained  an  extension  of  the  time  for  pre- 
senting a  petition  against  Mr.  Thompson's  return. 
Seven  days  were  allowed.  The  regulation  set  aside 
was  not  one  of  law,  but  was  simply  a  rule  of  the  House. 
When  the  allegations  in  the  petition  had  become 
known  to  the  House,  the  majority  evinced  extreme 


iiit_ 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


383 


anxiety  to  avoid  inquiry.  Mr.  Mackenzie,  continuing 
to  collect  evidence  and  increase  his  list  of  witnesses, 
refrained  from  completing  his  recognizances  as  security 
for  costs,  till  nearly  the  expiration  of  the  time  re- 
quired :  fourteen  days  after  the  presentation  of  the 
petition.  JSTew  facts  continued  to  come  in,  and,  before 
handing  in  his  list  of  witnesses,  he  wished  to  make  it 
as  complete  as  possible.  But,  by  an  entirely  new  con- 
struction of  the  law,  he  was  held  to  have  exceeded  the 
time.  Dr.  Rolph  showed  the  untenableness  of  the 
position  which  a  partisan  majority  was  ready  to  as- 
sume; but  without  avail.  The  petition  was  intro- 
duced on  the  20th  of  December.  It  then,  as  required 
by  law,  lay  on  the  table  two  days  before  being  read ; 
which  last  act,  it  was  contended,  completed  the  series 
which  made  up  the  presentation.*    The  House  had 


•  On  the  20th  of  January,  1837,  a  motion  having  been  made  for  allowing 
one  week  to  petition  against  the  return  of  Mr.  Charles  Richardson  from  the 
town  of  Niagara,  Dr,  Bolph,  seconded  by  Dr.  Morrison,  moved  to  add  the 
following  words : — "And  that  the  above  relief  be  also  extended  in  like  manner 
to  such  freeholders  of  the  Second  Biding  of  the  county  of  York,  as  may  within 
the  same  time  desire  to  make  their  complaint  of  any  wrongs  to  their  elective 
franchise  at  the  late  general  election ;  because,  as  the  late  petition  of  W.  L. 
Mackenzie,  complaining  of  the  undue  election  and  return  of  the  sitting  mem- 
ber for  that  Biding  (Edward  W.  Thompson,  Esq.)  was  in  the  terms  of  the 
forty-flrst  rule  cf  this  House  only  'brought  in'  on  the  20th,  and  not  'read'  till 
the  22nd  of  December,  it  could  not  till  then  be  considered  as  fully  presented ; 
and  because  the  Provincial  Act,  4th  Geo.  IV.,  ch.  4,  copied  from  the  English 
Act  2oth,  George  III.,  requires  that  'whenever  a  petition  complaining  of  an 
undue  election  or  return  of  a  member  or  members  to  serve  in  Parliament  shall 
be  presented  to  the  House  of  Assembly,  a  day  and  hour  shall,  by  the  said 
House  of  Assembly,  be  appointed  for  taking  the  same  into  consideration,  and 
notice  thereof  in  writing  shall  be  forthwith  given  by  the  Speaker  to  the  peti- 
tioner or  liis  agent;'  according  to  which  Act,  in  the  invariable  practice  of  the 
British  House  of  Commons,  the  bringing  up  readily,  and  acting  on  such  peti- 
tion, and  the  giving  of  the  said  notice  forthwith  by  the  Speaker  to  the  peti- 


384 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


always  acted  on  this  construction ;  and  it  could  not 
have  one  rule  for  itself  and  another  for  petitioners. 
The  petition  must  therefore  be  considered  as  having 
been  presented  on  the  22nd ;  and  the  fourteen  days 

tioner,  are  always  immediately  consecutive ;  and  as  this  House  have  by  their 
own  practice  put  such  a  construction  on  the  said  Act,  as  not  to  consider  such 
a  petition  presented,  so  aa  to  require  them  to  appoint  a  day  and  hour  for  taking 
the  same  into  consideration,  and  giving  forthwith  the  said  notice  to  the  peti- 
tioner, till  the  reading  thereof  on  the  second  day  after  it  is  brought  up,  so  the 
exigency  of  the  said  statute  ought  to  be  considered  as  satisfied  by  the  said 
petitioner,  by  his  computing  his  fourteen  days  from  the  said  reading  of  the 
petition,  as  properly  the  time  of  the  full  Parliamentary  presentation  thereof ; 
for  the  same  construction  by  which  the  House  is  governed  should,  in  justice 
and  good  faith,  be  applied  to  the  petitioner,  and  not  one  construction  be 
adopted  for  the  House,  and  another  construction  for  the  people  praying  them 
for  relief;  from  which  it  follows,  that  as  the  petition  of  Mr.  Mackenzie  was 
brought  up  on  the  20th,  and  not  read  and  acted  on  by  the  House  till  the  22nd, 
the  petitioner's  fourteen  days  reckoned  from  the  22nd,  for  entering  into  recog- 
nizances as  security  for  costs,  did  not  elapse  till  the  5th  of  January  inclusive, 
although  this  House  discharged  the  matter  from  the  order  of  the  day  on  the 
fourth,  thereby  giving  the  petitioner  only  twelve  instead  of  fourteen  days : 
and  because  the  Speaker,  in  behalf  of  the  House,  did  not,  according  to  the 
exigency  of  the  said  Statute,  give  notice  to  the  petitioner  'forthwith'  on  the 
22nd,  but  omitted  to  do  so  till  the  80th  of  December,  thereby  abridging  the 
time  of  the  notice,  which  would  otherwise  have  put  the  petitioner  and  his  at- 
torney on  their  guard ;  and  this  House  having  themselves  been  therein  guilty 
of  laches,  ought  not  rigidly  to  hold  the  said  petitioner  unexcused,  even  had  he 
been  guilty  of  laches  too:  and  because  this  House  adjourned  from  the  22nd  of 
December  till  the  2nd  of  January,  which  interval,  as  the  Speaker  was  not  in 
attendance  in  his  room  at  the  House,  ought  not  to  be  counted  against  the  peti- 
tioner, who  should  have  the  benefit  of  fourteen  sitting  days,  and  not  pursue  the 
Speaker,  as  possibly  might  be  needed  in  a  future  case,  to  his  country  seat,  a 
distance  of  several  hundred  miles :  and  because  Mr.  Mackenzie  had  gathered 
from  William  Patrick,  Esq.,  the  Senior  Clerk  of  this  House,  an  officer  of 
eighteen  years'  experience,  that  the  computation  of  his  fourteen  days  would  be 
from  the  reading  of  the  said  petition :  and  because  an  investigation  into  grave 
charges  affecting  the  freedom  of  election,  and  the  invasion  thereof  by  the 
Executive  Government,  and  consequently  affecting  the  constitution  and  cha- 
racter of  this  House,  ought  not  to  be  lightly  arrested,  when  the  injured  parties 
are  willing  and  anxious  to  prosecute  it,  but  should,  on  the  contrary,  be  openly, 
fully,  and  honorably  facilitated." 


THE   CANADIAN  EEBELLION. 


385 


for  completing  the  recognizances  would  not  end  till 
the  5th  of  January,  though  the*order  had  improperly 
been  discharged  on  the  4th ;  by  which  the  time  allowed 
by  law  had  illegally  been  abridged.  The  Speaker 
was  required,  on  the  22nd,  to  have  given  notice  to  the 
petitioner  of  the  day  fixed  for  taking  the  petition  into 
consideration ;  but  he  failed  to  give  it  till  the  30th, 
and  for  his  default,  the  House,  not  the  petitioner,  was 
responsible.  This  argument  was  conclusive;  but  the 
vote  was  hostile,  being  thirty-two  against  fifteen. 

It  may  seem  strange  that  the  presentation  of  a  pe- 
tition should  include  its  reading — fixed  by  law  at  two 
days  after  its  introduction — but  the  House  must  be 
judged  by  its  own  practice ;  and  this  is  stated  to  have 
been  uniformly  different,  on  all  previous  occasions, 
from  the  course  now  taken.  Mr.  Jonas  Jones,  by 
whom  the  act  relating  to  contested  elections  was 
brought  in,  did  Mr.  Mackenzie  full  justice  on  this 
occasion  ;  and  the  fact  deserves  to  be  noted  the  more, 
since  he  was  a  political  opponent  of  the  petitioner. 
"  He  considered  that  Mr.  Mackenzie  had  a  right  to 
count  fourteen  days  from  the  time  his  memorial  was 
read,  and  that  he  had  neglected  no  requirement  of  the 
law ;"  and,  on  this  ground,  Mr.  Jones  voted  against  an 
amendment  declaring  that  the  order  relating .  to  the 
petition  had  been  legally  discharged,  and  that  there- 
fore it  ought  not  to  be  restored.  And  Mr.  Gowan,  an- 
other political  opponent  of  the  petitioner,  showed  that, 
in  the  previous  Parliament,  he  had  been  placed  in  pre- 
cisely the  same  position  as  Mr.  Mackenzie  with  respect 
to  time ;  and  that  not  a  single  member  of  the  House, 
a  large  majority  of  whom  were  opposed  to  him  in 

49 


386 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


politics,  raised  an  objection.  One  thing  it  very  clear 
— and  it  must  be  regarded  as  a  circumstance  of  suspi- 
cion— the  Government  party  was  seriously  anxious  to 
avoid  an  investigation.  If  they  had  nothing  to  fear 
from  a  scrutiny,  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  what  motive 
they  could  have  had  for  departing  from  the  uniform 
practice  in  order  to  avoid  an  investigation.  The  delay 
on  the  part  of  the  petitioner  arose  entirely  from  the 
supposition  that  the  time  would  not  expire  till  the 
5th  of  January. 

He  had  the  authority  of  the  senior  clerk  of  the 
House  for  believing  that  this  was  the  uniform  prac- 
tice, and  on  the  22d  December,  the  day  on  which  it 
was  contended  the  presentation  of  the  petition  was 
completed,  Mr.  McNab  obtained  fourteen  days  for  the 
sitting  member  to  prepare  his  list  of  witnesses — an 
implied  confession  that  the  fourteen  days  after  which 
the  petition  would  be  acted  upon  commenced  on  that 
day.  An  amendment  was  added  to  this  motion  giv- 
ing Mr.  Mackenzie  the  same  time  to  prepare  the  list 
of  his  witnesses,  and  yet  the  majority  afterwards  re- 
fused to  give,  for  completing  his  recognizances,  the 
time  they  had  thus  agreed  upon.  The  motion  to  dis- 
charge the  order  for  taking  the  petition  into  consider- 
ation was  made  by  Mr.  J.  S.  Boulton,  who  had  taken 
an  active  part  ,»  i  the  expulsion  of  Mackenzie  from  a 
former  House,  and  of  whose  brother  the  petitioner 
had  some  years  before  obtained  the  dismissal  from 
the  Attorney  Generalship. 

There  was  the  more  reason  for  the  inquiry,  because 
the  allegations  in  the  petition  included  even  the  head 
of  the  government  in  charges  of  undue  interference ; 


THE   CANADIAN   EEBELLION. 


387 


by  making  inflammatory  replies  to  addresses,  with  a 
view  of  influencing  the  election  ;*  by  the  issue  of  land- 

*  Here  aro  a  few  specimens  of  the  partisan  and  inflammatory  replies  given 
by  Sir  Francis  Bond  Head  to  addresses,  and  published  with  a  view  of  influenc- 
ing the  elections  generally.  The  following  language  was  used  in  his  reply  to 
the  Electors  of  Toronto  :— 

"  Qentlemek  : — No  one  can  be  more  sensible  than  I  am,  that  the  stoppage 
of  the  supplies  has  caused  a  general  stagnation  of  business,  which  will  proba- 
bly end  in  the  ruin  of  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  city ;  and  in  proportion 
as  the  Metropolis  of  the  Province  is  impoverished,  the  farmers'  market  must 
be  lowered ;  for  how  can  he  possibly  receive  money,  when  those  who  should 
consume  his  produce  are  seen  flying  in  all  directions  from  a  land  from  which 
industry  has  been  publicly  repelled  ? 

•'In  the  flourishing  Continent  of  North  America,  the  Province  of  Upper 
Canada  now  stands  like  a  healthy  young  tree  that  has  been  girdled,  its  droop- 
ing branches  mournfully  betraying  that  its  natural  nourishment  has  been  de- 
liberately cut  off"." 

Still  dwelling  with  affected  lamentation  over  the  universal  devastation  caused 
by  the  withholding  of  his  supplies,  (the  whole  amount  of  which  was  less  than 
£10,000,)  he  thus  attempts  to  work  the  electors  up  to  the  highest  pitch : —     -r 

"Gentlemen  : — I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  another  such  a  victory 
would  ruin  this  country.  But  this  opinion  is  hourly  gaining  ground ;  the  good 
sense  of  the  country  has  been  aroused ;  the  yeoman  has  caught  a  glimpse  of  his 
real  enemy ;  the  farmer  begins  to  see  who  is  his  best  friend :  in  short,  people 
of  all  denominations,  of  all  religions,  and  of  diflerent  politics,  rallying  round 
the  British  Flag,  are  now  loudly  calling  upon  me  to  grant  them  constitutional 
redress. 

"  When  the  verdict  of  the  country  shall  have  been  sufficiently  declared,  I 
will  promptly  communicate  my  decision."  . .  , ,.,  ,        , 

Denouncing  the  Reformers  as  agitators,  he  says :— - 

"  Gentlemen  : — My  plans  and  projects  are  all  contained  and  published  in 
the  instructions  which  I  received  from  the  King.  They  desire  me  to  correct, 
without  partiality,  the  grievances  of  this  country ;  and  it  is  because  the  agita- 
tors see  I  am  determined  to  do  so,  that  they  are  endeavoring  to  obstruct  me  by 
every  artifice  in  their  power.  They  declare  me  to  be  their  enemy,  and  the 
truth  is,  I  really  am." 

But  his  Address  to  the  Electors  of  Newcastle  District,  if  possible,  transcends 
the  rest,  and  would  alone.  Dr.  Bolph  declared  on  the  floor  of  the  Legislature, 
have  formed  a  solid  foundation  for  his  impeachment: — 

"  As  your  district  has  now  the  important  duty  to  perform  of  electing  repre- 
sentatives for  a  new  Parliament,  I  think  it  may  practically  assist,  if  I  clearly 
lay  before  you  what  is  the  conduct  I  intend  inflexibly  to  pursue,  in  order  that 


;?■:^ 


388 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


patents  to  persons  known  to  be  hostile  to  the  peti- 
tioner, without  exacting  a  compliance  with  the  condi- 
tions of  purchase ;  besides,  gross  partiality  on  the  part 
of  the  Returning  Officer,  and  bribery  on  the  part  of 
the  sitting  member  *  It  would  have  been  far  better 
that  these  grave  charges  had  been  subjected  to  the 
test  of  a  rigid  scrutiny;  because,  if  they  were  not 
well-founded,  their  refutation  could  most  easily  and 
most  effectually  have  been  made  in  this  way.     But 

by  the  choice  of  your  new  members,  you  may  resolve  either  to  support  me  op 
oppose  me,  as  you  may  think  proper.  .  . 

"I  consider  that  my  character  and  your  interests  are  embariied  in  one  and 
the  same  boat.  If  by  my  administration  I  increase  your  wealth,  I  shall 
claim  for  myself  credit,  which  it  will  be  totally  out  of  your  power  to  with- 
hold from  me ;  if  I  diminish  your  wealth,  I  feel  it  would  be  hopeless  for  any 
one  to  shield  me  from  blame. 

"  As  we  have,  therefore,  one  common  object  in  view,  the  plain  question  fop 
us  to  consider  is,  which  of  us  has  the  greatest  power  to  do  good  to  Upper  Ca- 
nada  ?  or,  in  other  words,  can  you  do  as  much  good  for  yourselves  as  I  can  do 
for  you  ? 

"It  is  my  opinion  that  you  cannot!  It  is  my  opinion  that  if  you  choose  to 
dispute  with  me,  and  live  on  bad  terms  with  the  Mother  Country,  you  will,  to 
use  a  homely  phrase,  only  quarrel  with  your  own  '  bread  and  butter.'  If  you 
like  to  try  the  experiment  by  electing  members,  who  will  again  stop  the  sup- 
plies, do  so,  for  I  can  have  no  objection  whatever ;  on  the  other  hand,  if  you 
choose  fearlessly  to  embark  your  interests  with  my  character,  depend  upon  it 
I  will  take  paternal  care  of  them  both. 

"  If  I  am  allowed  I  will,  by  reason  and  mild  conduct,  begin  first  of  all  by 
tranquilizing  the  country,  and  as  soon  as  that  object  shall  be  gained,  I  will  use 
all  my  influence  with  His  Majesty's  Oovernment  to  make  such  alteration  in 
the  land  granting  departments,  as  shall  attract  into  Upper  Canada  the  redun- 
dant wealth  and  population  of  the  Mother  Country.  Men !  women,  and  mo- 
ney are  what  you  want,  and  if  you  will  send  to  Parliament  members  of  mode- 
rate politics,  who  will  cordially  and  devoid  of  self-interest  assist  me,  depend 
upon  it  you  will  gain  more  than  you  possibly  can  do  by  hopelessly  trying  to 
insult  me ;  for  let  your  conduct  be  what  it  may,  I  am  quite  determined,  so  long 
as  I  may  occupy  the  station  I  now  do,  neither  to  give  offence,  nor  to  take  it." 

The  reference  to  "bread  and  butter,"  in  this  Address,  caused  the  House, 
elected  in  1836,  to  be  called  the  "  Bread  and  Butter  Parliament." 

*  See  Appendix  C. 


THE   CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


889 


this  is  the  strongest  evidence  that  many  of  them  were 
true. 

The  decision  of  the  House  can  scarcely  excite  sur- 
prise ;  for  in  a  case  of  that  peculiar  nature,  where 
either  side  of  the  case  could  be  sustained  by  plausible 
arguments,  a  partisan  majority,  so  violently  opposed 
as  they  were  to  the  petitioner,  were  not  likely  to  be 
very  scrupulous  in  their  decision.  Rightly  or  wrongly 
the  petitioner  was  firmly  convinced  that  he  had  been 
defrauded  of  his  seat,  and  unfairly  and  illegally  de- 
nied the  liberty  of  proving  how  it  had  been  done,  and 
recovering  what  had  been  unwarrantably  taken  from 
him.  He  had  a  keen  sense  of  personal  injury,  and 
when  wrong  done  to  him  was  also  done  to  the 
public,  he  was  slow  to  forget,  and  not  too  ready  to 
forgive. 

Dr.  Buncombe,  a  member  of  the  Liberal  party  in 
Upper  Canada,  who  had  held  a  seat  in  the  Legislative 
Assembly,  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  Colonial  Se- 
cretary, Lord  Glenelg,  the  complaints  made  against 
the  Lieutenant  Governor,  in  connection  with  this  elec- 
tion, as  well  as  against  his  general  policy,  and  Sir 
Francis  Bond  Head  was  required  to  put  in  his  de- 
fence. 


I  i 


390 


LIFE  OF   MACKENZIE    AND 


■>\'>n  .. 


J  r  •  1.     * 


■kK  .,f 


fv 


I'J' 


.•W'.M' 


f     •',.:-•' 


CHAPTER    XXI. 


;.  ^  '  .IT 


Mackenzie  commences  the  Publication  of  The  Constitution  newspaper—  Kevo- 
lutionary  Literature — Mock  Trial  of  Sir  Francis  Bond  Head,  by  a  Com- 
mittee of  the  House  of  Assembly — A  Verdict  of  Acquittal  did  not  allay 
the  Public  Discontent — Samuel  Lount — The  Fatal  Eesolution — Personal  In- 
sult added  to  Political  Wrong — The  Session  of  1836-7 — The  House  shows 
its  Fear  of  an  Appeal  to  the  People  by  repealing  the  Act  by  which  the 
Death  of  the  King  efl'ected  a  Dissolution — Recklessness  in  Money  Votes — 
The  House  sanctions  the  Creation  of  the  Rectories — Turbulent  Close  of  the 
Session — A  Trade  Appeal  to  "Washington — Mr.  Mackenzie  goes  to  New  York 
and  purchases  largely  at  the  Trade  Sales  of  Books. 

,  On  the  4th  July — a  significant  date — Mr.  Mackenzie 
published  the  first  number  of  The  Constitution  news- 
paper, the  last  issue  of  which  appeared  on  the  29th 
November,  1837.  The  first  and  fourth  page  of  the 
number  for  December  6th  were  printed,  when  at  this 
stage  it  was  brought  to  a  violent  close  by  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  insurrection.  The  forms  of  type  were 
broken  up  by  the  loyalist  mob.  When  he  brought 
The  Colonial  Advocate  to  a  close,  he  was  anxious  to  bid 
adieu  to  the  harassing  cares  of  Canadian  journalism 
forever ;  but  his  political  friends  had,  by  their  urgent 
entreaties,  succeeded  in  inducing  him  to  re-enter  a 
career  to  which  he  had  previously  bid  a  final  adieu. 
As  editor  of  The  Constitution,  he  became  the  organ  of 
increasing  discontent,  and  might  easily  be  mistaken 
for  the  promoter  of  it.    But,  as  always  happens,  the 


THE  CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


391 


press  reflected  public  opinion  with  more  or  less  accu- 
racy, and  already  the  Liberal  portion  of  it  had  begun 
to  speak  in  no  muffled  or  ambiguous  accents  * 

We  are  entering  upon  the  period  of  revolutionary 
ideas,  expressed  in  speeches  and  rhymes,  in  news- 
papers and  more  solemn  documents.  Sir  Francis 
Bond  Head  may  be  said  to  have  produced  the  first 
specimens  in  inflammatory  replies  to  addresses.  What 
nearly  always  happens,  on  such  occasions,  happened 
on  this.  People  found  themselves  committed  to 
revolutionary  ideas  without  the  least  suspicion  of  the 
extent  to  which  they  had  gone,  much  less  of  what 
was  to  follow.  Dr.  Buncombe's  letter  to  Lord 
Glenelg,  charging  the  head  of  the  Provincial  Govern- 
ment with  crimes  which  deserve  impeachment,  was 
referred  to  a  committee  of  the  House  of  Assembly. 
Every  one  knew  in  advance  what  the  decision  would 
be ;  but  the  proceeding  was  in  the  nature  of  an  im- 
peachment against  Sir  Francis  Bond  Head.  For  if 
he  were  found  guilty,  what  was  to  be  done  ?  A  Col- 
onial Governor  who  misconducts  himself,  can  only  be 
tried  in  England ;  and  unless  there  were  a  foregone 
conclusion  to  exculpate  him  from  the  charges  made 
against  him  there  could  be  no  object  in  referring  them 

•  As  an  example,  the  following  verse  from  "  Rhymes  for  the  People,"  which 
appeared  in  the  St.  Thomas  Liberal,  in  August,  may  he  cited : — 

"Up  then!  for  Liberty— for  Right,  "'        "      ' 

Strike  home !  the  tyrants  falter ; 
Be  firm — be  brave,  let  all  unite,  " 

And  despots' schemes  must  alter. 
'    '     Our  King — our  Government  and  laws,  ' 

'  While  just,  we  aye  shall  love  them, 

But  Freedom's  Heaven-born,  holier  causa  '      '       •  • 

We  hold  supreme  above  them."  "    *  *'    '         "^ '" 


m 
m 


892 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


to  a  committee.  Dr.  llolpli,  assuming  a  serio-comic 
air,  ridiculed  the  proceeding  in  a  speech  that  will  ever 
be  memorable  in  Canadian  history.*  ,,      .^r  .> 

*  Dr.  Bolph  thus  oponud  hiti  battery  on  thu  miacallud  trotuury  btnchoi : 
••  Porhupe  novor  did  a  day,  wwiring  u  inoro  lownring  uspoct  tlmii  tliis,  dawn 
upon  a  BritiBh  Colony  !  T\w  glory  of  Provincial  Monarchy,  giibjoctod  igno- 
miniou8ly  to  tho«o  proceedings,  is  sullied  beyond  the  power  of  your  acquittal 
to  redeem.  Kings  are  sometimes  tried.  But  nations  uro  their  Judges.  And 
when  a  people,  goaded  by  injury,  rise  in  their  majesty  to  occupy  the  Judg- 
ment seat,  grand  is  the  spectacle  and  vost  the  result!  Popular  sympathy 
gonerully  mingles  with  the  royal  fate,  and  interest  is  transmitted  with  the 
very  block  which  is  dyed  with  their  blood.  But  Kings  even  in  Europe 
would  dwindle  into  shadows,  were  thi>y  arraigned  and  tried  before  subordinate 
tribunals.  Only  imagine  it;  King  William  the  Fourth  tried  by  a  select  com- 
mittee of  the  House  of  Commons !  The  proposition,  Sir,  shocks  you.  *  • 
Impeachment,  did  I  say  ?  Oh  no.  They  have  doomed  their  illustrioui 
personage  to  drink  the  cup  of  humiliation  to  the  very  dregs.  The  trial  hai 
not  been  conducted  oven  before  the  Legislative  Council,  our  Provincial  House 
of  Peers,  who  would,  perhaps,  regard  a  guilty  partici])ation  little  less  than 
petit  treason  !  It  has  not  even  boon  conducted  before  this  honorable  House, 
while  tho  ohnir.  Sir,  was  occupied  by  the  Speaker,  in  whom  is  embodied, 
besides  his  Parliamentary  phylacteries,  tho  uggregato  dignity  of  the  Assembly, 
with  tho  Mace,  surmounted  with  a  Crown,  lying  umsuively  on  the  table,  and 
defended  by  tho  Sergeant-nt-Arms,  girded  with  a  sword  and  glowing  with  a 
chivalrous  spirit.  Such  inquisitorial  proceedings  even  over  Royalty  have, 
when  clothed  with  statolincss  and  wrapt  up  in  form,  an  imposing  etfect  upon 
the  eyes  of  the  multitudo,  who  are  therefore  tho  less  likely  to  huvo  thoir 
habitual  reverence  seriously  impaired.  But  as  if  there  wore  a  conspiracy  to 
bring  His  Excellency  to  the  very  dust,  to  shadow  his  dignity,  mortify  hii 
pride,  and  republicanize  tho  people,  tho  investigation  was  repudiated  by  the 
House,  and  insultingly  transferred  to  an  ordinary  c()mmitteel  *  *  "What  will 
tho  British  Government  say  to  this  impolitic  proceeding?  You  who  ought 
to  be  the  first  to  keep  within,  at  least,  tho  bounds  of  impeachment  in  the 
Mother  Country,  have  assumed  to  try,  and  either  condemn  or  acquit  tho  repre- 
sentative of  tho  King!  The  Governor  has  been  charged  with  interfering, 
to  an  alarming  degree,  with  the  purity  and  freedom  of  tho  late  general  elec- 
tions. It  is  a  charge  of  treason  against  the  people.  You  are  this  day  teach- 
ing them  a  lesson  they  will  not  easily  forget.  They  find  themselves,  through 
the  persons  of  their  representatives,  bringing  under  the  ordeal  of  this  inquiry 
tho  head  of  tho  Executive  Government.  If  it  is  thought  expedient  to  exempt 
him  from  civil  and  criminal  responsibilities  in  tho  courts  of  justice,  by  what 
law  do  you  now  assume  a  Jurisdiction,  of  which  even  tho  King's  Bench  ia 


THE  CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


303 


The  report,  as  every  body  had  foreseen,  was  a  ver- 
dict of  acquittal ;  and  a  special  verdict,  it  must  be 
remarked,  since  it  declared  that  the  country  owed  the 
Vice  Regal  defendant  a  debt  of  gratitude  for  his  pa- 
triotistti  and  other  inestimable  qualities.  But  if  Sir 
Francis  Bond  Head  was  pronounced  a  model  Go- 
vernor, by  a  partisan  committee,*  the  public  was  not 
convinced,  and  the  discontents  were  not  allayed. 

A  considerable  portion  of  Dr.  Duncombe's  letter, 
containing  the  charge  against  the  Lieutenant  Governor, 
on  which  the  committee  had  pronounced,  related  to 
the  Second  Riding  of  York  election,  on  which  a  com- 
mittee had  illegally  been  refused  to  Mr.  Mackenzie. 
Nor  was  he  allowed  to  produce  before  the  committee, 
that  pretended  to  inquire  into  these  charges,  the 
evidence  which  he  was  prepared  to  produce  in  sup- 
port of  them. 

The  case  of  Mr.  Mackenzie,  though  perhaps  not 
exactly  like  any  other,  cannot  be  regarded  as  having 
stood  alone.  The  improper  means  taken  by  the  Ex- 
ecutive to  influence  the  elections,  did  not  aifect  him 
alone.    Sir  Francis   Bond   Head  openly  proclaimed 

ousted?  If  found  guilty,  will  you  put  him  into  the  custody  of  tho  Sergeant- 
at-Arms?  Will  you  as  it  wore  dethrone  him^Kjr  bring  him  to  tho  block  ? 
You  may  have  an  authority  from  the  British  Ministry  to  exorcise  this  inquisi- 
torial function;  but  I  cannot  even  then  acknowledge  its  wisdom.  When  you 
familiarize  the  people  with  those  summary  proceedings  against  Kingly  func- 
tionaries, you  make  them  compare  their  own  strength  and  importance  with 
that  of  their  rulers.  •  •  By  tho  adoption  of  this  report  you  acquit,  and  by 
the  rejection  of  it,  you  convict  Sir  Francis  Bond  Head  of  the  high  crimes  and 
misdemeanors  brought  against  him." 

•  The  committee  flrsl  sat  on  the  25th  of  November,  composed  of  Messrs. 
McNab,  Draper,  Parke,  Sherwood,  and  Woodruff.     On  the  first  of  December 
Messrs.  .Jones  and  Norton  were  added.     And  on  the  22d,  Mr.  Draper  retired 
and  was  succeeded  by  Messrs.  Prince  and  Burwell. 
60 


80 1 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,   AND 


himself  the  enemy  of  the  Reformers;  and  he  brought 
all  the  weight  of  his  position  to  boar  against  them  as 
a  f>arty.  It  was  the  general  conviction  of  the  popular 
party,  tlmt  if  Mr.  Mackenzie's  complaints  of  the  un- 
due return  of  Mr.  Thompson  hud  gone  before  a  com- 
mittee of  the  House,  he  could  not  have  hoped  to  obtain 
justice ;  a  conviction  which  prevented  others  from 
seeking  to  reclaim  seats  out  of  which  they  believed 
they  had  been  fraudulently  cajoled.  This  was  the 
case  of  Mr.  Samuel  Lount,  who  was  goaded  into  re- 
bellion and  hanged  for  high  treason.* 

The  sense  of  injustice  engendered  by  these  means 
rankled  in  men's  minds ;  and  it  tended  to  beget  a  fatal 
resolution  to  seek  redress  by  a  resort  to  physical  force. 


*  "  On  the  15th  of  February,  1837,"  Mr.  Mackenzie  related,  "  Mr.  Samuel 
Lount,  the  late  upright  and  patriotic  member  for  Simcoe,  called  at  my  house, 
accompanied  by  Mr.  Thrift  Meldrum,  Merchant  and  Innkeeper  in  Barrie, 
and  I  mentioned  to  them  that  I  was  collecting  ovidonco  for  a  pamphlet  to 
expose  the  Government,  as  the  Executive  influence  had  cheated  mo  out  of  my 
right  to  do  so  through  an  election  contest  for  the  Second  Biding.  Mr.  Lount 
took  out  his  pocket  memorandum  book,  and  stated  that  Mr.  Moldrum  had 
been  requested  to  open  his  tavern  for  Robinson  and  Wickens,  at  the  time  of 
the  late  election,  and  that  he  did  so  ;  that  since  the  election  he  (Meldrum)  had 
informed  him  (Lount)  that  on  one  occasion,  he  (Meldrum)  accompanied  Mr. 
Wellesley  Ritchey,  the  Government  Agent,  from  Toronto  to  the  Upper  Settle- 
ment; that  Mr.  Ritchey  called  him  (Meldrum)  to  one  side  at  Crew's  tavern, 
where  the  stage  stopped,  and  told  him  that  Sir  Francis  had  employed  him 
(Ritchey)  to  give  the  deeds  to  the  settlors  in  Simcoe,  and  that  he  (Ritchey) 
wanted  him  (Moldrum)  to  assist  in  turning  Lount  out.  Meldrum  agreed  to 
do  his  best,  opened  his  house,  and  says  that  Wickens  paid  him  faithfully  for 
his  liquor,  &c.  When  Mr.  Lount  had  read  the  above  from  his  memorandum, 
I  asked  Mr.  Meldrum  if  he  could  swear  to  these  facts,  he  said  he  could,  for 
they  were  perfectly  correct.  I  then  asked  Mr.  Lount,  who  gave  me  a  number 
of  important  facts,  why  he  did  not  contest  the  election,  and  he  told  me  it 
would  have  been  throwing  £100  away,  and  losing  time,  for  that  no  one 
who  knew  who  the  members  were,  could  for  a  moment  expect  justice  from 
them." 


,1f.'''-.«f 


THE   CANADIAN   KEBKT.LTON. 


396 


This  resolution,  which  did  not  assume  n  positive  shape 
for  some  time  afterwards,  was  a  capital  :rror,  and 
one  which  some  were  to  expiate  with  their  lives,  others 
with  sufferings  and  privations  and  contumely  scarcely 
preferable  to  death. 

It  was  not  sufficient  for  Sir  F.  B.  Head  and  his 
friends  to  pursue  one  of  the  two  parties  into  which  the 
country  was  divided  with  injustice ;  they  were  not  loss 
ready  to  assail  them  with  personal  calumny.  The 
Tory  press  asked,  "  Who  is  Wm.  Lyon  Mackenzie  ?" 
And  then  they  proceeded  to  give  their  own  answer. 
The  Celtic  blood  boiling  in  his  veins,  at  the  personal 
insults  offered,  Mr.  Mackenzie  replied  in  terms  that 
cannot  be  characterized  as  either  temperate  or  dis- 
creet.* The  fiery  words,  he  used  under  the  excite- 
ment, can  hardly  be  held  to  express  more  than  the 
exasperation  of  the  moment ;  and  if  they  did  not  fall 
harmless,  it  was  because  the  government  of  Sir  F.  B. 
Head  had  inclined  the  people  to  listen  to  desperate 
counsels,  ,  ; 


•  "  Small  cause  indeed,"  he  said,  "hnve  Highlanders  and  the  descendants 
of  Highlanders  to  feel  a  friendship  for  the  Guelphic  family.  If  the  Stuarts 
had  their  faults,  they  never  enforced  loyalty  in  the  glens  and  valleys  of  the 
north  by  banishing  and  extirpating  the  people ;  it  was  reserved  for  the  Bruns- 
wicliors  to  give,  as  a  sequel  to  the  massacre  of  Glcncoe,  the  cruel  order  for  de- 
population. I  am  proud  of  my  descent  from  a  rebel  race;  who  held  bor- 
rowed chieftains,  a  scrip  nobility,  rag  money,  and  national  debt  in  abomina- 
tion. And  notwithstanding  the  doctors'  late  operations  with  the  lancet,  this 
rebel  blood  of  mine  will  always  be  uppermost.  "Words  cannot  express  my 
contempt  at  witnessing  the  servile,  crouching  attitude  of  the  country  of  ray 
choice.  If  the  people  felt  as  I  feel,  there  is  never  a  Grant  or  Glenelg  who 
crossed  the  Tay  and  Tweed  to  exchange  high-born  Highland  poverty  for  sub- 
stantial Lowland  wealth,  who  would  dare  to  insult  Upper  Canada  with  the  of- 
ficial presence,  as  its  ruler,  of  such  an  equivocal  character  as  this  Mr.  what  do 
they  call  him Francis  Bond  Head."  : ..  ^  .   ^         ■;  i       ,    .) 


S 


^P  .4. 


li 


396 


LIFE   OF   MACKENZIE,  AND 


.  In  the  session  of  1836-7,  which  closed  on  the  4th 
of  March,  Sir  F.  B.  Head's  "  Bread  and  Butter  "  As- 
sembly was  very  far  from  realizing  his  election  pro- 
mises of  Reform.*  But  it  is  not,  probable  that  any 
section  of  the  public  was  disappointed,  for  they  were 
not  promises  that  any  one  expected  to  see  fulfilled. 
The  fear  of  a  legal  and  inevitable  dissolution,  which 
seemed  to  be  impending,  weighed  heavily  upon  the 
"  Bread  and  Butter  "  Parliament.  King  William  IV. 
would  probably  not  live  four  years ;  and  on  the  demise 
of  the  Sovereign  the  Legislative  Assembly  legally 
ceased  to  exist.  Sir  F.  B.  Head  was  not  likely  to  fare 
so  well  in  a  second  election  as  he  had  in  the  first.  A 
bill  was  therefore  passed,  taking  away  the  effect  of  the 
Sovereign's  death,  of  dissolving  the  House.  Of  the 
majority,  who  passed  this  act,  Mr.  Mackenzie  said, 
"  They  tremble  and  shake  for  fear  of  the  just  retribu- 
tion their  covetousness  has  provoked  ;  and  at  Head's 
nod  vote  themselves  fit  to  outlive  kings  and  emperors, 
though  utterly  unfit  to  face  their  injured  country." 
The  Lieutenant  Grovernor  was  greatly  scandalized  at 
a  vote  of  £50,000  for  roads,  in  the  previous  session  ; 

*  In  one  of  his  electioneering  replies  to  addresses,  Sir  F.  B.  Head  said: 
•*  Upper  Canada  has  been  so  cruelly  deceived  by  false  statements,  that  the 
farmers'  interests  are  neglected,  while  the  agitators  of  the  Province  have  been 
reaping  a  rich  harvest. 

"  Gentlemen,  I  was  sent  here  by  His  Majesty  on  purpose  to  correct  the  griev- 
ances of  the  country,  I  see  quite  clearly  who  are  its  enemies ;  and  I  declare 
to  you,  that  if  the  farmers  will  assist  me,  I  will  assist  them. 

"  It  is  quite  certain  that  I  can  render  this  Province  powerful  assistance ;  and 
it  is  equally  certain  that  I  have  been  ordered  by  His  Majesty  so  to  do." 

And  in  another:  •♦Gentlemen,  I  need  hardly  assure  you  that  I  myself  am 
Bn  advocate  for  reform,  because  if  you  will  but  take  the  trouble  to  read  my 
instructions,  they  will  show  you,  that  I  wai'  sent  to  Upper  Canada  by  our 
Gracious  Sovereign  for  the  express  purpose  of  carrying  reform  into  effect." 


THE   CANADIAN  REBELLION. 


397 


i  at 


but  now  ten  times  that  amount  was  voted  for  the  same 
purpose.  The  bill  authorized  the  government  to  ap- 
point commissioners  to  expend  the  money.  If  there 
were  grave  objections  to  allowing  members  of  the 
House  to  perform  this  duty,  the  matter  was  not  likely 
to  be  made  much  better  by  investing  an  irresponsible 
administration  with  the  entire  control  of  the  expendi- 
ture, through  agents  of  its  selection.  The  money 
bills,  passed  this  session,  show  an  extraordinary 
degree  of  recklessness,  on  the.  part  of  the  House, 
in  incurring  debt.  The  Welland  Canal  debt  was 
increased  to  nearly  a  million  of  dollars.  Authority 
was  given  to  borrow  on  the  credit  of  the  Province 
over  three  quarters  of  a  million  (£300,000)  more, 
on  account  of  a  projected  railroad  from  Hamilton 
to  Sandwich ;  to  lend  $400,000  to  the  Toronto  and 
Lake  Huron  Railway  Company ;  for  a  loan  of  £77,000 
for  the  improvement  of  the  Trent  Navigation.  A 
large  number  of  other  loans  to  companies  connected 
with  harbors,  canals,  and  navigation,  was  authorized. 
The  entire  amount  voted  must  have  been  about  five 
millions  of  dollars ;  bearing  a  larger  proportion  to 
the  revenue  than  a  hundred  millions  would  at  present. 
The  establishment  of  fifty-seven  Rectories  by  Sir  J. 
Colborne,  before  he  left  the  government,-  which  had 
given  great  offence  to  a  large  majority  of  the  popula- 
tion,* received  the  approval  of  the  Assembly. 
The  session  closed  in  one  of  those  hurricanes  of  pas- 

*  When  Sir  P.  B  Head  undertook  to  manage  the  elections,  he  found  the 
Kectory  question  one  of  his  ditficulties.  "The  feeling  which  the  endowment 
of  these  Rectories  created  through  the  Province,"  he  admitted  in  a  dispatch  to 
the  Colonial  Secretary,  "  was  one  of  the  many  difficulties  I  had  to  contend 
against,  during  the  late  elections." 


398 


LIFE   or   MACKENZIE,   AND 


sion  which  often  precede  a  violent  revolutionary  move- 
ment. The  question  of  a  Union  of  Upper  and  Lower 
Canada  had  been  before  the  House  during  the  session, 
and  resolutions  had  been  passed  condemning  the  pro- 
ject. At  twelve  o'clock  on  the  last  day  of  the  ses- 
sion— the  prorogation  was  to  take  place  at  three — 
Messrs.  Sherwood  and  Jones  asked  the  concurrence 
of  the  House  in  an  address  to  the  Crown  founded  on 
the  resolutions.  Dr.  Rolph  moved  an  amendment, 
the  object  of  which  was  to  prevent  a  decision  on  the 
question  in  the  absence  of  many  members  who  had 
already  gone  home.  He  was  followed  by  two  other 
speakers  on  the  same  side,  and  as  time  was  running 
rapidly  against  them,  and  Black  Rod  would  soon 
make  his  appearance,  the  Tories  began  to  show  signs 
of  impatience — moving  about,  whispering  in  little 
knots  together,  and  calling  "  question"  and  "  order." 
Then,  at  the  instance  of  Messrs.  Jones  and  Draper, 
the  Speaker  called  Dr.  Rolph  to  order,  laying  down 
the  rule  that  the  question  of  Union  could  not  be  dis- 
cussed on  the  amendment,  but  that  it  was  only  permis- 
sible to  argue  from  the  absence  of  members.  Trying 
what  he  could  do  within  these  narrow  limits,  Dr. 
Rolph  proceeded : — 

"  Our  geographical  situation,"  he  said,  "  is  singular. 
To  the  South  we  are  barred  from  the  Atlantic  coast 
by  the  American  Republics ;  to  the  North  and  North- 
West  you  pass  through  barren  lands  to  mountains 
covered  with  everlasting  snows,  and  among  Indian 
tribes  unknown ;  and  to  the  East  we  are  intercepted 
by  the  sister  Province,  the  very  Province  with  which 
it  is  proposed  to  unite  us."    Here  he  paused  amidst 


soon 


THE   CANADIAN   EEBELLION. 


399 


a  scene  of  wild  confusion.  Three  members  were  con- 
ferring with  the  Speaker,  and  others  of  the  majority 
were  consulting  together  in  clusters,  when  the  Speaker, 
addressing  Dr.  Rolph,  told  him  he  must  confine  him- 
self to  the  question.  "  Most  logically,  sir,"  was  the 
reply,  "  nothing  but  the  gossipping  about  you  prevented 
you  from  comprehending  the  bearing  of  my  remarks," 
Mr.  Jones,  in  an  undertone :  "  This  is  indecent."  Dr. 
Rolph :  "  The  honorable  and  learned  member  says, 
*  This  is  indecent.'  "  Mr.  Jones :  "  I  only  said  so  to 
you,  not  to  the  House."  Dr.  Rolph  :  "  What  is  said 
to  me  is  said  to  the  House.  Indecent  to  discuss  the 
question  of  Union  introduced  by  himself!"  The 
{Speaker  interposes :  "  That,  sir,  is  beside  the  ques- 
tion." Dr.  Rolph :  "  Do,  sir,  then  your  duty  by  pro- 
tecting the  minority  against  the  majority."  There 
was  now  a  scene  of  complete  confusion  and  disorder ; 
members  moving  about,  whistling  and  talking,  amid 
cries  of  "Chair."  The  Speaker  again  interposed: 
"Really  the  time  must  not  be  thus  consumed;  we 
shall  soon  have  to  wait  upon  the  Lieutenant  Governor 
with  some  joint  address."  Dr.  Rolph  :  "  Then  j)ost- 
pone  the  discussion  till  next  session ;  surely  want  of 
time  is  attributable  to  those  who  now  bring  on  the 
question  at  the  eleventh  hour,  not  to  this  side  of  the 
House,  who  are  forced  into  it."  After  a  further  alter- 
cation, the  amendment  was  put  and  lost,  and  just 
as  the  Speaker  was  about  to  put  the  main  motion.  Dr. 
Rolph  rose,  saying :  "  Mr.  Speaker,  I  have  another 
amendment  to  propose,  notwithstanding  your  high- 
handed method  of  putting  me  down."  Mr.  Sher- 
wood :  "  Order !  order !  chair."    Several  voices :  "  Pro- 


I  ^1 


n? 


» 


hi 


hh 


I  <  I 

'i'  Si 


400 


LIFE  OF  MACKENZIE,   AND 


'« 


!-l 


tect  the  chair."  The  Speaker  made  some  remark 
that  was  not  audible  below  the  bar.  Dr.  Rolph  : 
"  Bear  it ;  yes,  it  is  but  little  of  what  is  deserved." 
He  then  moved  that  the  sense  of  the  country  on  the 
subject  of  a  Union  of  the  Province  would  be  best 
ascertained  by  dissolution,  as  a  means  of  appealing  to 
the  country.  Having  thus  obtained  the  right  to  enter 
on  a  wider  range  of  discussion,  he  went  on  amid  the 
same  confusion  as  before,  and  when  he  was  uttering 
the  words,  "The  evil  of  our  inland  situation  is  ad- 
mitted; what  is  the  remedy?" — ^the  Speaker  an- 
nounced :  "  The  time  has  arrived — half-past  one — to 
wait  on  the  Lieutenant  Governor  with  some  joint  ad- 
dress." And  the  scene  was  abruptly  brought  to  a 
close. 

Thus  ended  the  last  regular  session  of  the  Upper 
Canada  Legislature  preceding  the  outbreak  of  1837, 
though  an  extraordinary  session  was  to  intervene. 
Several  such  scenes  had  occurred  during  the  first  ses- 
sion of  the  "  Bread  and  Butter"  Parliament.* 

In  the  last  session  of  the  previous  Parliament,  Mr. 

•  The  Montreal  Gazette,  a  Tory  paper,  was  greatly  scandalized  at  the  "scenes 
of  an  unseemly  character  that  have  lately  been  enacted  in  the  Commons 
House  of  Assembly  of  our  sister  Province  of  Upper  Canada.  We  particu- 
larly allude,"  it  said,  •'  to  the  disorderly,  and,  we  must  add,  disgraceful  man- 
ner in  which  important  questions  were  discussed  during  the  late  session.  Why, 
we  ask,  on  any  question,  however  much  it  may  involve  the  interests  of  the 
public,  or  excite  the  feelings  of  contending  and  opposite  parties,  should  the 
present  House  of  Assembly  of  Upper  Canada,  of  all  others,  so  far  forget  what 
was  due  to  itself,  to  the  dignity  of  its  deliberations,  to  the  welfare  of  its  con- 
stituency, to  the  prosperity  of  the  Province,  and  the  fair  fame  and  honor  of 
its  character,  as  to  permit  itself  for  an  instant  to  break  loose  like  so  many  Bed- 
lamites into  those  scenes  of  riotous  disorder  to  which  wo  have  alluded,  and 
which,  it  is  admitted  on  all  hands,  reflect  but  little  credit  on  the  best  and 
wisest  among  them." 


THE   CANADIAN   REBELLION. 


401 


t,  Mr. 


Mackenzie,  as  has  already  been  noticed,  had  carried 
an  address  to  the  King,  praying  that  the  Imperial 
Grovernment  would,  by  the  use  of  its  diplomatic  in- 
strumentalities, endeavor  to  procure  for  Canadians 
transit  of  goods  through  the  United  States  free  from 
import  duties.  But  as  it  had  not  brought  about  the 
desired  result,  a  large  number  of  Canadians  petitioned 
the  Federal  authorities,  at  Washington,  to  grant  a 
drawback  of  duties  on  Canadian  imports  passing  in 
transitu  through  the  United  States.  And  it  was 
alleged  that  the  petition  received  more  attention  than 
was  paid  to  the  address  sent  to  England,  though  it 
appears  to  me  that  the  facts  hardly  bore  out  the  state- 
ment. 

This  spring  Mr.  Mackenzie  went  to  New  York, 
arriving  there  about  the  end  of  March.  At  the  trade 
sales,  then  going  on,  he  purchased  several  thousand 
volumes  of  books,  and  made  large  additions  to  his 
printing  establishment.  About  two  years  before  he 
had  added  a  large  book-store  to  his  other  business, 
and  his  present  purchases  furnished  decisive  proof 
that,  at  this  time,  the  idea  of  risking  every  thing  upon 
an  armed  insurrection  had  not  entered  into  his  calcu- 
lations. 


61 


